Welcome To The Arena
by Irk Splee
Summary: On a hot summer's day, the cats decide to take a trip to watch a fighting tournament in an attempt to alleviate the boredom. Of course, they may be doing more than simply watching! Nintendo crossover.
1. I'm BORED

Pardon me while I do something completely ridiculous for a moment...

What happens when a friend and I start roleplaying a crossover between Catscratch, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, and her own series? Well, fun! If Amalockh can do Catscratch/video game crossovers, so can I! So, enjoy this silly diversion, which should at the very least be slightly less silly than "Jeopardy" and "You're a Mean One, Mr. Blik". Yay plot! All Nintendo, Sega, and Konami characters copyright their respective owners. Catscratch characters are copyright Doug Tennapel and Nickelodeon. Kyoto belongs to my buddy Amy. I OWN NOTHING

* * *

_**WELCOME TO THE ARENA**_

**Challenge: **"Game"

**Timeline: **After "Strays", before "Daddy Blik"

**Required Reading: **None

"I'm BORED," Waffle whined, sprawled out on the living room rug. "I'm bored and it's hot and there's nothing to DO."

It was a Sunday morning in the blazing heat of summer, rife with the usual lethargy such days tend to induce. The Cramdilly brothers were of no exception to this; both Waffle and Blik sat in their living room, doing nothing of remote interest to themselves or anyone else.

"Shutting up is an option," Blik snarked. "How about you shut your trap and allow me to read my paper in PEACE?" He settled back into the cushy chair in the living room and turned the page of his newspaper with a crackling sound. "There's an idea, by the way... maybe if you educated yourself on what's going on in the world..."

"Reading's no fun," Waffle said, not moving an inch. "I'd just be MORE bored."

"Blik's right, though, laddie..." Gordon said, walking into the room from the kitchen. He set his mug on a coaster on the table (it was steaming, but whatever it contained is likely better off unknown), picked up his own paper from the table, and situated himself in the chair. "You can find some very interesting things inside a newspaper."

"And bad stuff," Waffle pointed out. "Robberies and murders and stuff. That's just scary. I don't wanna read it!"

"You'll have to leave the fantasy world some day," Blik told his brother. "The world's not all candy and fluff. Maybe your BRAIN is, but..."

"Well, here's a harmless page," Gordon said, peeling one from the rest of the paper and tossing it towards Waffle. "It's just ads. Maybe you could find us something to do?"

Waffle reached up, caught the paper, and started skimming over it. "I know! Why don't we go see a movie?"

"I'll tell you why not - because they won't let us IN. I told you the popcorn machine wouldn't make a good home for your newts, I told you! But what do you go and do?" Blik snapped, lowering his paper.

"But they love popcorn!" Waffle protested. "And they seemed to like it in there!"

"Until someone turned the machine on, they went hopping up and down, and then someone actually LOOKED in there to see what was making that infernal squeaking! You got us banned from every theater in Bakersfield for that one! For LIFE!"

"All right, all right, calm down," Gordon said. "It's really too late to do anything about that now, it was months ago..."

"We can just pirate everything anyway," Blik rationalized, once again propping up his paper and intending to completely ignore his brother.

"So I'll look for something else..." Waffle said, going back to reading. "Zoo?"

"Banned," Blik replied. "You're not supposed to jump fences, Waffle, and I really doubt that the kangaroo wanted to give you a ride."

"Oh yeah..." Waffle said with a frown and then continued looking. "There's an aquarium nearby, I don't think I did anything bad at the aquarium, did I?"

"Not that I can think of," Blik said.

"SPLEE!" Waffle jumped up excitedly. "Then we can go to the aquarium! We can see the fish and the sharks and the sea monkeys and the-"

"Ah, not exactly," Gordon spoke up, slightly embarrassed. "I was there a few weeks ago, when they were having that lobster exhibit, and I kind of lost control..."

"He tried STEALING them," Blik said with disgust. "Pig."

"Klaus and Rhonda would be ashamed of you, Gordon," Waffle scolded. "You promised you wouldn't do that!"

"I was hungry! Waffle, you know I can't last very long in an aquarium without getting hungry..."

"OK, something else," Waffle said, ignoring his anger at Gordon for breaking his promise. "Something new! Something that hasn't thrown us out yet!" He once again returned to the paper.

"Gordon?" he asked after a moment of silence. "What's a turn-knee?"

"Oh, a tournament! People coming from all over to do battle for prizes and glory!" Gordon answered wistfully. "I've never been to one, but I can only imagine, strangers coming together and bonding over a nice, sporting duel... why do you ask, Waffle?"

"They're having one today down at the stadium," Waffle said, holding up the paper to show his brothers.

"Let me see that," Blik said, flipping through his own newspaper, looking for the page. " '9th Annual Super Smash Brothers Tourney'," he read aloud. " 'Meet both old champions and new hopefuls. Open to the public. Tickets sold at the door, $20 per person. Snacks extra.'" Blik scoffed. "So you're suggesting we go watch people kick the snot out of each other for twenty bucks a pop?"

"Sure!" Waffle chimed in excitedly, missing the sarcasm. "What about you, Gordon? You said you always wanted to see one of these, didn't you?"

Gordon didn't respond immediately. Instead, his eyes widened and his mouth slowly turned up into a giant grin.

"Er... Gor?" Waffle asked, slightly worried. "Gordon?" He waved his paw in his brother's face, his own brow furrowed. "Say something!"

"Just take it as a yes," Blik grumbled. "As for me, I'm staying. You guys go have your fun."

"But... but Mr. Blik!" Waffle protested. "I thought you were bored, too!"

"I am, but if I go I'll be bored and short twenty bucks. I'm not going," he insisted, holding his paper up in front of his face. After a few seconds of silence, he resumed reading an article about a bridge they were building in a neighboring city. Nothing that really mattered to him, but if reading it worked at making him look busy and therefore making Waffle shut up, he was more than willing to tough it out. Of course, Waffle wasn't going to give up that easily; but did it hurt to hope so?

"'It is thought that making transportation easier will-'" Blik read to himself, but was cut off by Waffle pulling half the paper down and staring him in the eye, not saying a word. Blik did not speak for a few seconds.

"You're going to just sit there until I agree, aren't you," Blik said dryly, without the inflection of a question.

Waffle nodded in silence, grinning stupidly.

"And no amount of yelling and insulting you is going to change your mind."

Waffle shook his head, still not speaking.

"And you don't care that if I agree to go to this stupid thing, I'll probably grow bored in mere minutes, counting the gravel on the ground in a desperate attempt at entertaining myself. You'll just keep sitting there and you won't get out of my face until I say 'yes, I'm going'."

Another wordless nod.

"Very well," Blik sighed in defeat, tearing the address of the stadium out from the ad. "HOVIS!" he called, folding his paper and putting it on the table. "Hovis, we're going out! Straighten up the living room while we're gone! Just don't throw out the newspaper!" Without even checking if Hovis had heard him, Blik hopped out of his chair and started towards the door. "C'mon, guys. I'm driving."

* * *

"Geez it's bright... we're not even going to be able to see the show, are we? Not that I WANT to, but... this just makes this whole outing even more pointless..."

Blik stepped out of the house with his hand on his forehead in an attempt to shield himself from the sun. Waffle immediately wilted under the heat; it may have been hot in the house, but at least there were fans in every room.

"Need... root beer..." Waffle wheezed, making his way back through the door. "I'll be... back..."

"Would you grab one for me as well?" Gordon asked.

"One? Waffle, just fill the cooler!" Blik commanded. "I'm not sitting under the hot sun watching people hit each other without a steady supply of root beer! Get on it! And Gordon, you go help."

"But why - " Gordon raised a finger in protest, but was swiftly silenced.

"Don't ask why, just GO." Blik pointed towards the door to further make his point. "I'll start the car while you're in there. Take your time and maybe by the time you come out Gear's AC will have done its job."

Knowing better than to question Blik in instances like this, Gordon followed Waffle into the house in order to get some drinks for the trip.

"And now that they're gone..." Blik chuckled to himself as he looked towards his neighbor's house. He stood up straight, brushed at his fur, and proudly marched down his walkway and up hers. His eyes were closed due to a belief that it made him look more dignified; he had this path memorized anyway. There was no need to see where he was going. After making it to the door, he took a final moment to clean up; flattened a few more patches of fur, including licking his paw and slicking back the fur on his head; and then lifted his fist and motioned to knock on the door...

...and proceeded to knock on thin air.

"Hey there, Blik," Katilda answered. She leaned against the door frame with her arms crossed, smirking to herself. "All that flair wasn't necessary, you know."

"Hey. So, er... so you saw all that." Blik muttered, deflated.

"Sure did," Katilda answered, her smirk growing wider. "I came out when I heard you screaming at Gordon and Waffle and I've been standing here all this time. You should pay more attention, Blik."

"Er... yeah." Blik said quietly, hanging his head in embarrassment.

"So what brings you over here this fine morning?" Katilda asked, not entirely serious.

"What, a guy can't come over and see his mate just because?"

"He can. Thing is, you usually DON'T."  
"Oh, hush," Blik grumbled again. "This really isn't going how I hoped... look. Katilda. I came over because Gordon and Waffle are dragging me out somewhere. I figured it'd be a lot less boring if you came along. We could make a date of it... what do you say?"

"So you admit you DID want something?" Katilda replied, her grin growing even wider.

"Is that a yes or a no?" Blik asked bluntly, his arms folded and his foot tapping.

"You know I'd love to go with you, Blik..."

Blik beamed with pride.

"...because everywhere you go something completely ridiculous but awesome happens..."

His expression immediately fell.

"Oh, don't look at me like that, I'm KIDDING! I thought you knew me by now! I'd love going anywhere with you because you're, well, YOU. But I can't. I already have a ticket for a show today."

"What, and you didn't invite me?" Blik pouted.

"Well, I didn't think you'd like this sort of thing," Katilda said. "I'm going to go see a fight. Some thing called Super Smash Bros. All KINDS of warriors and paranormal and mythical creatures, coming together to destroy each other, in a friendly way, of course... that's MY place, but I understand it's not really yours."

"Funny thing about that," Blik said. "That's where Gordon and Waffle are dragging me. But answer me this; why oh WHY is watching people fight so appealing?"

"It just is," Katilda shrugged. "Though I was hoping to... hold on, where's my..." Katilda said, trailing off. She looked on both sides of the door frame in the house. "I thought I... be right back," she said, going into the house and slamming the door.

"Where are you going?" Blik called. "What are you-"

"Just a second!" Katilda called back. "I'm just looking for my- ah, here it is, I found it!" she continued. The door opened wide and she stepped out again.

"...what is that?" Blik asked.

"It's a sword, stupid!" Katilda shot back happily, holding it out in a battle pose.

"Well, yeah, I can see that. But why do you even need it? We're watching a fight, not having one!"

"Says you," she said, sticking the point into the ground and leaning on it. "Maybe if I act cute enough they'll let me play, too... and if I'm going to fight, I'll need a weapon!"

"Katilda, it's made of WOOD!" Blik snapped. "Don't you at least have a real one? You did that day we met... come to think of it, I think that belonged to US at one point..."

"I dropped it in the forest that same day," she explained. "It was go back and get it or save you from getting turned into wood chips."

"And I'm quite content with your decision on that matter, believe me," Blik said, inwardly shuddering at the thought. "But what can you do with a wooden sword?"

"More than I can do unarmed," Katilda said. "And this is assuming they let me do it anyway."

"I kind of hope they don't..." Blik said quietly, not admitting to the million and one horrible scenarios running through his mind, each and every one involving Katilda and some sort of giant monster.

"And I kind of hope they DO," Katilda said. "And that's the end of that. So, we're taking the truck, then?"

"Yeah," Blik answered. "We're just waiting for Waffle and Gordon to load Gear up, and then-"

"It's kind of stupid to name a truck," Katilda pointed out. "But it'll get us there, so who cares? Let's go!" she cried triumphantly and then ran towards the Cramdilly garage, not allowing Blik to finish his explanation. Instead, he sighed and slumped forward.

"WHY do I love her, again...?" he asked himself, but gave him a mental shake. "Who knows, maybe a day out with her will remind me of that..." After assuring himself of this, he followed her off to the garage. He could already see Katilda standing inside leaning against one of Gear's tires by the time he passed his front door; it was that moment that it chose to swing open. The brothers had indeed loaded the cooler, perhaps a bit too much. Gordon was pushing at it from one side as Waffle pulled the handle on the other. Even with their combined effort, it was still a slow job.

"Oh... hey... Blik..." Gordon wheezed. "So... did you... start... the car... yet? I need... AIR..."

"Ah... no," Blik admitted. "There was something else I wanted to do first, took a bit longer than I expected..."

"What were you- GORDON, THIS IS HEAVY!" Waffle said sobbing, completely forgetting his question. Letting go of the handle, he dropped to his knees and began panting. "It's hot and this thing's HEAVY," he complained again.

"You guys need some help over there?" Katilda called. She moved away from the truck, instead choosing to lean forward on her sword, pushing the point against the concrete on the garage floor.

"Oh, could you, lass?" Gordon asked, too distracted to question why she was even there. After letting the sword clatter to the ground by Gear's rear tire, Katilda walked over, grabbed the handle that Waffle had dropped, and resumed what he had quit.

"Thanks..." Waffle said, still panting. He stood up long enough to open the cooler as it was being pushed, pull out one of the many bottles of root beer, and shut it, sitting back in the grass as soon as he had what he wanted.

"So... why're ya here, Katilda?" Waffle asked, struggling with the cap of the root beer.

"Well, SOMEONE invited me along to your little trip," Katilda answered, dragging the cooler with little effort as Gordon shoved it along. "You guys mind?"

"Mmm-mmm." Waffle had resorted to chewing the cap off, leaving him unable to answer in words.

"Well, you SHOULDN'T," Blik answered. "If I have to be dragged along to this stupid thing, then fine, but I'm enjoying myself too."

"Doesn't come... as much... of a surprise..." Gordon said. "I can't push this thing. Blik, a wee bit of help, if you please?"

Without a word, Blik walked over to the cooler, extracted a root beer from it, and slammed it shut.

"He said help!" Katilda said, staring incredulously; but then, were Blik's actions such a surprise?

"I did help. I made it lighter, didn't I?"

"Oooh, then I helped too!" Waffle chimed in, still having yet to get the cap off of his beverage. "Blik, could you go in and get the bottle opener?"

"Do you guys want me to start the car or not?" Blik snapped. "Gordon, Katilda, Waffle, you three get the cooler up into the truck. I'll get it started."

"Like you promised earlier," Gordon reminded Blik. Still holding his root beer bottle, Waffle slowly dragged himself over to his brother and Katilda, stopping every so often to have an exaggerated panting fit before moving on.

"Oh, cut it out, Waffle, it's not THAT hot!"

"Yes... yes it is..." Waffle whined. "'specially since I can't get my drink open..."

"Just get the stupid cooler in the truck," Blik snapped. "You can worry about the root beer later. If we have to go to this thing, then let's GO already!" He climbed his way up the tires and into Gear and settled himself into the driver's seat. "Waffle!" he called down from his high perch. "If you're going to keep complaining about the cooler, then I'll give you something else to do! Keys!"

"Why didn't you grab them before getting in?" Waffle yelled back, louder than necessary.

"Does it matter? I told you to do something and you'll do it!"

"Fine..." Waffle said, dragging himself over to the garage desk to search for the car's key.

"Gordon! Katilda!" Blik continued barking orders. "You two lift the cooler up so I can pull it into the truck! Waffle, you help once you have the key!" Gordon and Katilda nodded, not in much of a mood to argue anymore.

"Got it!" Waffle called, holding up the key ring and shaking it a little.

"Well, come on, give it here!" Blik shouted. Waffle threw it towards him and went off to lift the cooler. Blik caught the key with ease, jammed it into the ignition, and beamed happily at the hum of the engine.

"I think... my back... is going out..." Gordon wheezed, pushing the cooler up. Even with Katilda's and Waffle's help, it was no easy task.

"Come on, come ON, just a little further!" Blik reached out over the side of Gear, to the point that any movement could have caused him to topple out. He luckily avoided this occurrence, grabbed one of the handles in both paws, and with a swift tug, brought the cooler flying into the front seat.

"Shotgun!" Waffle called happily, springing up and landing in the front seat of the truck between Blik and the cooler, still holding his closed soda.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, who said I want to sit next to you? Back," Blik insisted, pointing his thumb towards the rear seat.

"Aw, how come?" Waffle whined. "I never get to sit in the front!"

"Therefore, nothing's changed. BACK!" With a noise of complaint, Waffle climbed over the front bench and landed with a thump in his place.

"Now what'd you go and do that for?" Gordon asked, also settling into the back seat.

"Because I want Katilda up here!" Blik said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"No surprise there..." Katilda chuckled as she took her own place in the truck and placed her sword on the floor.

"Everyone settled? Then off we go!" Without waiting for an answer, Blik put Gear in reverse and rocketed out of the garage.

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"No, Waffle."

"OK. ...now?"

"NO."

"How about now?"

"NO!"

"...now are we-"

"WAFFLE, I SWEAR, IF YOU DON'T STOP TALKING I AM GOING TO COME BACK THERE AND SHOVE YOU INTO THE STREET!" Blik shouted, taking his eyes off the road to glare at his brother.

"Eyes on the road, Blik, eyes on the road!" Gordon said. Blik rolled his eyes and resumed staring. The truck's passengers resumed sitting in silence, the only sound emitting from the radio.

"What the heck are we even listening to, anyway?" Blik asked, glaring at the radio which was currently playing an obnoxious pop song.

"CD I made myself!" Waffle announced with pride. "Put a bunch of songs I like on it! I left it in the player last time we were in the truck, remember?"

"Wish I could FORGET," Blik snapped.

"I dunno... I kinda like it," Katilda said. "It's cute."

"Yeah. Cute. Exactly. Which is why I wish I could FORGET."

"Well, the stadium's just a block or two away at this point..." Gordon rationalized. "A couple more minutes can not hurt."

"Oh, trust me, Gordo. It HURTS."

"Oooh, oooh, I have an idea!" Waffle said. "How about I sing until we get there!"

"WAFFLE! NO! DON'T YOU DARE!" Blik shouted, but Waffle obviously had no intention of listening.

"Last night, I saw you cryin', and in the mornin', you still feel blue!" he sang happily, oblivious to his Blik's ear twitching and his teeth gritting. "But losers, they give up tryin', so wipe that tear – Blik, don't!" Waffle interrupted himself as Blik reached over to take out the CD.

"Come ON, Waffle, we're about to turn into the parking lot anyway! I can't take another second of this!"

"Just leave it on until we park!" Waffle begged, reaching forward to pull Blik's paw away.

"Lad, sit back down! That's dangerous!" Gordon warned, trying to pull Waffle into his seat. He fought against Gordon, desperate to keep his control of the radio.

"Stop being a moron for FIVE SECONDS, Waffle! It's just a stupid song! You can take it into the house when we're done here and listen to it FAR AWAY FROM ME!"

"But I want to listen to it NOW!" Waffle said to his brother. "At least until we park!"

"NO! I'M TURNING IT OFF!"

"BLIK! WATCH OUT!" Katilda cried. "IF YOU DON'T PAY ATTENTION YOU'RE GONNA HIT-"

Too late. Blik pulled his paw off of the accelerator, but the damage had already been done. The cats couldn't see just who they had hit, but they heard the thump and the pained yelp.

"Now look what you made me do!" Blik snapped at Waffle.

"But you're the one who-" Waffle began to defend himself.

"Both of you, quiet!" Gordon said. "Now isn't the time for arguing. Come on, let's see if whoever we've hit is all right..." He unbuckled his seat belt and hopped out of the truck; Waffle and Katilda followed. Blik, however, kept his seat at the wheel. He turned the volume on the radio all the way down and sat back, really not caring about what was happening below.

"It's a dog..." Katilda observed. Indeed, a large, black-furred dog was lying motionless in front of Gear's front left tire. Between his size, pointed ears, and shaggy fur, he slightly resembled a wolf.

"Oh. No reason to bother ourselves with it, then. Did I kill it?" Blik asked, the faintest hint of hope in his voice.

"BLIK!" Gordon scolded. "Dog or not, of course we have to see if he's all right!"

"I think he's breathing," Waffle said, leaning over the dog. "Hello?" he asked, softly poking the animal's back. "Hello? You all right?"

The dog's nose began twitching as if it had picked up a scent. "Cat..." it muttered quietly.

"Yes... yes, we're cats... are you OK, Mr. Dog? Or Ms.? Or Mrs.? Or whatever you are?"

"Cat..." the dog said a little louder, his voice finally revealing his gender. "Cat... LUNCH!" he cried, suddenly springing up and pouncing toward Waffle. If not for the reflexes he'd gained from all of the other dangerous encounters he'd had in his life (not to mention the continuous stream of sugar-high energy he always had), Waffle never would have dodged it. The dog skidded across the concrete on all fours, his claws making a scraping noise as he went.

"Speedy little meal, aren't you?" the dog growled, grinning wickedly. "But don't worry, soon I'll get you and your friends and I'll-"

"All right, all right, that's enough," Gordon said in his Highland Warrior tone, then returned to normal for introductions. "Are ye all right, laddie? My brother is terribly sorry for running in to you like that..."

"Of course I'm not! It's a dog!" Blik shouted down. "And why are you talking to it so kindly, anyway? It just threatened to KILL us!"

"Well, maybe if we apologize he'll have no reason to be angry with us..."

"Oh, I'm not angry," the dog assured. "Just hungry. Now if you would all sit still.."

"I don't think so," Katilda said, waving her sword. "I think we could all take you. Don't you guys agree?"

"You're going to fight me with a STICK?" the dog laughed. "Wow. Pathetic. These cats think they can beat me. HILARIOUS." Despite his assertion that the situation was indeed comedic, he wasn't smiling. He stood up on to his hind legs, reaching a height about a head taller than Katilda, and brushed himself off. "Congratulations, you guys just killed my appetite. You get to live. For now. But watch your back, because you never do know..." With that final threat, the dog turned and started to head toward the stadium. Waffle watched as he left.

"Think he's one of the fighters...?" Waffle asked, slightly worried.

"Katilda, you're NOT going to even try fighting," Blik said. "Not against THAT thing."

"Oh, stop worrying!" Katilda said. "There's no saying he has anything to do with this. In fact, if he's NOT a fighter, then it's the people in the stands who have to worry about him! I'll be the safe one!"

"Either way, for all we know, we'll never see him again. No use panicking about it," Gordon said. "Come on, let's park Gear, get ourselves in the stadium, and enjoy ourselves a show!"

Katilda, Waffle, and Gordon all let out an excited, triumphant cheer. Blik grumbled in annoyance.

* * *

I know I normally don't put notes at the end of a chapter, but this note really wouldn't have fit at the start, you'd have been confused – the song Waffle starts belting is "Say Cheese (Smile Please)" by Fast Food Rockers. Yes, that is a terribly silly name, but they're a terribly silly band, just the sort of thing I'd imagine Waffle would enjoy, and "Say Cheese" is so optimistic and happy that it's taken residence in my brain as a theme for Waffle. And so there. ...I do kind of like Fast Food Rockers when I'm in a silly mood. Ahem.

Also, random observation – this is my first chaptered fic in a little over a year. Wow. I forgot how much I missed writing these things.


	2. Make You A Deal

What the? This actually came along fairly quickly? How unlike me. XD I'm trying to improve on the whole speed thing, I swear. Leaving people hanging on for two months isn't very kind. I apologize. It's a little shorter than usual, yes, but hey, that's the trade-off.

Would also like to mention this now since this is when the crossover officially begins – in most cases, the personalities of the SSBB characters are going to based off what I managed to get out of the game itself, rather than the series they came from. While I am a total Nintendo fangirl, I haven't played EVERY series in the game, especially the ones which come from genres that I suck at, and Wiki hasn't been much help with character descriptions. Therefore, going by their in-game trophies and personalities in Subspace Emissary. So before you cry "OOC!"... that could very well be Nintendo's fault.

All characters still belong to people who are not me, for I am an uncreative lout.

* * *

"SPLEE! Tournament!" Waffle cried happily as Blik pulled Gear into a parking spot. "We're here! We're finally here! We're gonna have fun!"

"If we manage to get there in time," Blik said. "Why the heck are we parked all the way back here?"

"Well, this thing starts in less than an hour," Katilda pointed out. "There's probably people who have been waiting here for DAYS. It's our fault for being late."

"Like I knew I'd even be here!" Blik snapped. "This day just gets better and better..."

"I know, doesn't it?" Waffle said, as always not noticing that anyone could possibly not be as chipper as he. "C'mon, guys! Let's go!" Waffle leaped his way out of the parking lot and went speeding across it.

"Lad, calm down! You can't go running across a parking lot like that!" Gordon called after Waffle, undoing his seatbelt and chasing after him.

"Aw, come on, let him run!" Katilda said. "There's no other cars HERE! We're the last ones!" She too jumped out of the truck gripping her sword and ran out of sight, leaving Blik alone.

"Isn't anybody going to help me with this?!" Blik shouted, slamming his fist down on the cooler, but by then the others were out of hearing range. "COME ON!" he shouted louder. After the realization settled in that they weren't coming back, Blik smacked his forehead against the steering wheel.

"This isn't my day..." he grumbled. With a heavy sigh, he pulled the key out of the ignition, opened the truck door, and shoved the cooler out of the truck. It hit the asphalt with a heavy crash. He then hopped out himself, locked the car with the remote, and proceeded to slowly drag the cooler across the lot.

* * *

"TOURNEY!" Waffle kept screeching as he made his way toward the stadium. "TOURNEY TOURNEY TOURNEY TOURNEY!"

"Waffle! Waffle, slow DOWN!" Gordon shouted, wheezing as he jogged after. "We cannot keep up!"

"What do you feed him?!" Katilda asked, having completely given up on trying to keep up. Her walking stride managed to keep pace with Gordon's attempt to jog for so long.

"I don't think it's a food thing... it's just a Waffle thing," Gordon answered. "This morning he could barely move, but now that we're here and he HAS a reason to yell his head off and run..."

"Makes sense, I guess," Katilda said. She and Gordon both watched as Waffle quickly got farther and farther away, before slowly coming to a dead stop and looking to his right. "GORDON! KATILDA! BLIK!" he called.

"Blik's back there!" was Katilda's response.

"Then Gordon and Katilda! Look at these things! What are they, do you think?"

Gordon and Katilda both exchanged a quick glance before picking up the pace a little bit, curious as to what Waffle had found.

"Look at these cars!" Waffle said. "There were a bunch of normal ones, but then I got to this part of the lot..."

Katilda walked up to one of the vehicles and placed her paw on the front, perhaps to convince herself that it was really there. There was no top to the car at all; the steering wheel jutted out from the top, attached to a blue block with a red 'M' painted on. The rest of the car was painted red and had several exhaust pipes sticking out from the back.

"Looks like some sort of go-kart," Gordon said. "Wonder what kind of person owns this?"

"There's a bunch of 'em!" Waffle said, also pointing out two green and one pink kart.

"I can't even imagine ONE person wanting to drive one of these things," Katilda said.

"I dunno..." Waffle replied. "They're kinda..." Whatever Waffle thought they were went unknown as he turned around and stopped dead in his tracks.

"Kind of what?" Gordon asked before looking up and catching sight of what Waffle had seen. "What in the name of bonny Scotland...?"

"CLOWN!" Waffle shrieked before ducking behind Gordon, shivering. Gordon and Katilda continued staring at it, not entirely sure what to make of it. It resembled a giant bowl, with what appeared to be a glaring clown face painted on it. Instead of wheels, it seemed to move by way of a propeller on the bottom.

"Whoever drives that thing probably isn't someone I want to know," Katilda muttered.

"Oh, wow, look at this! I wanna ride in this!" Waffle said, his short attention span leading him over to a yellow, star-shaped spaceship. He climbed on top of it and pressed his face against the dome window. "Look at all the buttons! I want to press 'em!"

"Laddie, down from there!" Gordon said. "Who knows what the owner's like..."

"I can't imagine anyone who pilots a giant star to be overly threatening," Katilda said.

"Yeah, but still..."

Waffle jumped down from it, not because of Gordon's scolding, but because his attention span had again led him elsewhere. "Oooh, look at this! And that one! I wish I could ride on this! I wonder who drives that one?" Waffle flitted between spaces, examining modes of transportation as mundane as bikes and motorcycles (granted, a very flashily painted motorcycle) and as out of place as various spaceships, oddly colored and shaped cars, and things that remained downright undefinable.

"And look at this rickety old rocket!" Waffle continued on, banging a fist against the side of said vehicle. "It looks like it's gonna fall apart!"

"Do you suppose these all belong to the competitors?" Gordon wondered aloud.

"Would explain why they're all up front," Katilda said. "Reserved parking. I'm just wondering about all this... I mean... I thought the competition would be a bit more exciting than this."

"You can't judge by appearances," Gordon said.

"Yeah, I know, but... star-shaped spaceships? Old rockets? THAT THING?" She pointed at the clown car. "And to think Blik was worried about me... this should be easy."

"I can't wait to watch!" Waffle giggled. "This should be FUN!"

"Fun... in... what... UNIVERSE?"

Blik had finally caught up, still lugging the cooler behind him. "And why... did you guys... leave me... behind... with... THIS?" he panted, too weak to actually shout. He let go of the handles and slumped over, wheezing.

"Now you know how I felt!" Waffle taunted, sticking out his tongue.

"I'd smack you if I had the energy," Blik said with a glare.

"Oh, Blik! Blik! I wanted to show you all these neat cars! Look at this one, it's awesome!" Waffle said, ignoring Blik's threat, and jumped onto a flame painted motorcycle. "Vroom vroom!" he laughed, squeezing the handles. "Look, it even has a W on it! W for Waffle!"

"What kind of psychos are we dealing with here?" Blik asked. "These things are ridiculous! I swear, I passed a car that was flat! FLAT!" he insisted, putting his paws together to indicate just how flat it was. "Just like a piece of paper! Flat and colorless! That sort of thing can't even exist! It just defies physics!"

"But we've seen krakens and banshees and aliens and zombies and meteor worms and monster rabbits and evil robots and electrical powers and extinct mammoths and more aliens and happy sparkly world and attack trucks and dragons and second heads and ancient magical guardians and people turning into fish and mind-control dolls and killer ducks," Waffle rattled off, never once pausing for breath.

"...well, yeah," Blik finally answered after taking a few seconds to decide if a better response even existed. "What's your point?"

"I dunno," Waffle said with a shrug. "VROOM!"

"This is all great fun, but I'd like to be on time for this, so if ye don't mind..." Gordon said, attempting to diffuse another argument.

"Oh, right!" Waffle said. "TOURNEY TOURNEY TOURNEY!" He jumped off the motorcycle and pointed to the stadium. "AWAY!" With that final shout, he once again rocketed across the lot.

"Not without me!" Gordon ran after, catching a second wind. Blik and Katilda watched them go, motionless.

"I'm really not sure about this," Katilda said.

"Considering not joining?" Blik asked. "Good. It's dangerous and pointless."

"Dangerous? Are you kidding?" Katilda laughed. "Of course I'm joining! It's just... well... look at all this!" she said, extending one arm and indicating their surroundings. "It's all so... colorful! Like something out of a cartoon! If anything, this is going to be an easy win! What I'm not sure about is if it'll be exciting winning so easily! Now let's go!"

"Fine..." Blik grumbled, defeated. He pulled at the cooler again, straining at its resistance against movement...

...but suddenly, it started to move just a bit easier.

"Need a bit of help with this thing?" Katilda asked, her paws on the other side of the cooler, helping to push.

"...yeah," Blik nodded. "Thanks, Katilda." After exchanging a brief smile, the two started moving the cooler again, hoping to catch up with Waffle and Gordon.

* * *

"What took you guys so long?! We've been standing here for... for... forever!" Waffle complained as Blik and Katilda finally came into sight.

"What do you think took so long?!" Blik asked, smacking the cooler a few times. "Try dragging THAT across an entire parking lot!"

"It was only a few minutes," Gordon assured Blik, trying to calm him down. "We haven't been here too long."

"Did you guys buy your tickets yet?" Katilda asked, waving her own.

Gordon shook his head. "We were waiting for you guys. We haven't even gone up to the booth yet."

"But now we can!" Waffle said. "Hey! Mr. Ticket Guy!" Waffle started shouting, running up to the ticket booth. "Mr. Ticket Guy! We need three tickets for-" Again, Waffle stopped to take in the sight of something odd; this time, the person in charge of the booth.

"Can I help you?" the ticket seller asked, resting the side of his head in his hand – or wing, rather – and resting his elbow on the counter. "Or are you going to keep staring?"

"We need... three..." Waffle started to say, dumbstruck. "You're a giant bluebird!" he finally finished his sentence.

"I am a FALCON, thank you!" he snapped. "Now, what do you want?!"

"Well, you're giant, and you're blue, and you're a bird, so-"

"If your next sentence isn't to tell me what you want, I'm calling security," the falcon said, drumming his fingers against the counter.

"What he's trying to say is, we'd like to purchase three tickets," Gordon said, stepping between Waffle and the booth. "We also have an advance ticket."

"Sold out," the falcon said simply.

"I don't THINK so!" Blik snapped. "I did NOT drive all the way here, get threatened by a hulking dog, and drag this stupid cooler all the way across the lot just to be told that I can't get a ticket, especially when I DON'T EVEN WANT TO BE HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

"Then go be somewhere else," the falcon said. "We're sold out. We sold out the same day we started selling. I'm just here to take the advance tickets. If you have one, why don't you have four?"

"Three of us came last minute," Gordon said. "Are you absolutely sure there's no way to get in?"

"Sold out," he repeated. "Decide who gets the ticket and then get out of my sight."

"NO!" Blik yelled. "You listen to me, you over-sized turkey, if you don't let us in right now-"

"Security," the falcon said into his microphone, lacking all emotion, as if he'd done this a million times before.

"What, you calling a chicken friend or something?" Blik taunted, chuckling.

"A fox friend, actually," came a voice from behind the cats. All four turned to look. A fox as tall as a adult human stared down at them, one paw on the gun in his holster. "These cats giving you trouble, Falco?"

"Got that right, Fox," Falco responded. "Once I told them the tickets are sold out, that little black one started harassing me."

"Falco? Fox?!" Blik laughed. "What kind of stupid names are those supposed to be?"

"I see what you mean," Fox told Falco, staring at Blik and raising an eyebrow. "Look, guys, I'm sorry, but Falco's right – we don't have any tickets. We haven't in weeks. You'll have to leave."

"There has to be SOME way!" Katilda insisted. "Somewhere we can sit! We'll take the cheap seats! We'll squeeze ourselves on the ground between benches! Please?"

"Well..." Fox started, his paw on his chin in thought. "There is one way, but I'm not sure if you're gonna like it..."

"ANYTHING!" Waffle pleaded. "We'll do anything! Please?!"

"All right... you see, we do have a couple seats left. Thing is, they're in the reserved section, for friends of the competitors," Fox explained.

"So you'll let us sit there without being friends of the fighters?" Waffle said excitedly, his face lighting up.

"I never said that," Fox continued. "Besides, even if I would, there's only two. I wouldn't be able to seat all four of you."

"Well, if you won't let us sit there, then why are you even telling us?!" Blik shouted angrily.

"I never said I wouldn't let you, either. Would you let me finish?" Fox said. "We also still have a bunch of sign-ups open for fighters. Since there's no tiers and the match-ups are determined on the spot anyway, we can take last minute entries. We'd just have to put a couple new names in. It's easy to do. You'd also be able to watch the fights that you're not actually in. You catch where I'm going with this?"

"I accept!" Katilda said immediately, brandishing her sword. "I'll be more than happy to participate!"

"So that's one down," Fox said. "And since we only have two seats left... who's the other taker?"

"Oh, I don't fight well..." Waffle said. "I just wanna see it, that's all..."

"And if you think I'm putting my neck at stake for this, you're out of your mind," Blik said, his arms folded.

"Then that leaves the white one," Falco said. "Hey, tubby! You haven't spoken since Fox suggested this whole thing! You up for it or what?"

Gordon didn't say a word. He stood in utter silence, his face completely blank.

"Do you want to or not?" Fox asked. "Say something!"

Gordon was still too deep in shock to respond. However, Blik, Katilda, and Waffle all knew him well enough to determine just what his answer would be. They all spoke at the same time.

"He'll do it."

"If you're sure about that..." Fox said. "I'm not sure you should answer for him-"

"I'll do it!" Gordon said for himself. "Of course I'll do it! You bet I will! I thought I'd only watch! But to be able to fight! Of course! I swear I'll-"

"OK, OK, it's a yes!" Fox laughed, cutting Gordon off. "It's almost time to start," Fox said, checking a futuristic watch on his wrist. "I doubt anyone else'll show up at this point. Falco, you lead these guys to their seats. I'll get the new fighters signed in."

"At least I get to leave this stupid booth," Falco said. "Just because I've been doing these fights for years, I get put on menial work..."

"As soon as you get them seated you can go suit up for battle, I assure you," Fox said. "Can I get the names of our new warriors?"

"Name's Katilda!" she said happily, grinning widely.

"And I am Gordon Quid of the Highland Quid Clan!"

"Katilda and Gordon, eh? You two follow me. I'll show you where you'll be waiting between fights. I promise, you'll be able to watch from there."

Both with a nod, Katilda and Gordon followed Fox past the doors and around the stadium, out of sight.

"OK, and you two! Gray! Black!" Falco shouted, stepping out.

"We have names!" Blik said. "I'm Mr. Blik. My stupid brother here is Waffle."

"And I'm Waffle!"

"I really don't give a crap, to be honest," Falco said. "I'm taking you to your seats and hopefully never seeing you again. Particularly you, blackie."

"It's BLIK!"

"I don't CARE! Are you coming or not?!" Falco snapped, tapping his foot impatiently.

"I'm coming. Can I at least get some help with this cooler?" Blik asked, reaching for the handle.

"No outside food or drinks," said Falco.

"Oh, come ON!" Blik said. "You couldn't have told me that earlier?"

"I didn't even think you'd get in!" Falco said. "No outside food or drinks. You get hungry or thirsty, you buy something inside. End of discussion. Just leave the thing there and come back for it later."

"Yeah, forget the root beer!" Waffle said, four words you'd least expect to come out of his mouth. "We'll just buy some inside! Let's go, Blik!"

"As much as I don't want to..." Blik said, but followed anyway.


	3. New Friend, New Enemy

Chapter 3 already? Goodness, I'm on a roll! Well, what can I say? This is one of the most fun things I've written in a loooong time!

Yes, my chapters are getting shorter and shorter. Preferable to staring at it for two months trying to MAKE it get where I want it to. Instead, once I hit a dead spot, I'll just use time to clean it up and, if the spot's STILL dead, put it up rather than saving it, shoving it in the back of my hard drive, and forgetting about it. Better for all involved. Heck, with shorter chapters going up far more frequently, you may be getting more story in less time than waiting an eternity for an uber-long chapter. It's better this way. TRUST ME.

*checks characters* Nope, still not mine.

* * *

"Astounding! Simply astounding!" Gordon kept repeating similar phrases as Fox led him and Katilda up a long spiral staircase. The three had entered a large brick tower right near the stadium walls. "Unbelievable! All these years of being the best warrior I could be, all for the protection of everyone else... and now I can actually do this for plain and simple fun!"

"Protection? So you're a hero?" Fox asked, making conversation. "May I ask who you fight? An archenemy of sorts? Who knows, maybe you're connected to someone else in this thing..."

"No archenemy, really," Gordon said. "Closest I've got are the Chumpy Chump Brothers, but they're just a lot of dishonorable teenagers... no, I just fight any sort of monster that dares to threaten my family or friends. They never do come back."

"Family and friends? Is that all?" Fox asked. "It's just, most everyone I hear of has a loved one to fight for as well."

"Gordon, you're bright red right now, you know that?" Katilda teased, poking his shoulder.

"Oh, er, uh..." Gordon stammered. "She doesn't know it, but, well, there is a lass... her name's Kimberly, and, well..."

"Say no more, say no more!" Fox said with a grin. "I was joking!"

"But she's no damsel in distress, she can handle herself fairly well, all things considered!" Gordon rushed out in an attempt to defend Kimberly's reputation.

"Trust me, I know what that's like. My Krystal's no damsel, either." Fox's paws clenched into tight fists. "And if that Panther doesn't keep away from her I am going to take his stupid rose and stuff it up his-"

"I'm guessing you're a hero, too, judging by the questions," Katilda interrupted. "What's it like for you?"

"I'm the leader of a team of space fighters," Fox explained. "It's me, Falco, Krystal, and Slippy. We just take odd jobs, fly out where things aren't right and fix them. We've also had a few run-ins with another group, Star Wolf. Their captain is here, too."

"What's his name?" Katilda asked.

"Wolf. They're named after him."

"Do I need to ask what species he is?" Gordon asked.

"Probably not," Fox responded as they reached the top of the steps. They led to a long hall with a large wooden door on the end. "You'll wait in there. Keep an eye on the status board – you'll want to come down when the match before one of yours is going on. No one's going to come get you, so pay attention!"

"How many other people are in there?" Katilda asked. Her eyes suddenly brightened. "Are we going to get to meet a whole bunch of other fighters?"

Fox shook his head. "The tower's just for newcomers. There's only one other person in there. I forget what his name is... I'm not the one who signed him in. Apparently he didn't talk to Pit at all on the way up. Doesn't seem very sociable. You two be careful with him, OK?"

Katilda laughed as she swung her sword. "HAH! I don't know what it is to be careful!"

"May want to learn if you're going to make it out here," Fox said. "I have to go get ready for my fight now. The door's unlocked; just walk right in. Good luck!" He then turned and headed down the stairs.

"What do you think this other new lad is like?" Gordon asked.

"Who knows?" Katilda said. "Maybe he was just shy. One way to find that out!" She shoved on the door, causing it to hit the wall with a loud bang. "Hey there, fellow newcomer!" she shouted. "No need to be shy! The name's Katilda, and I'm-"

She stopped when she noticed the large black dog leaning in the corner, glaring daggers at the two cats.

"I thought I was rid of you hairballs!" he snarled, revealing two rows of wickedly sharp teeth.

* * *

"So what are the other fighters like? Do you know 'em all? You said you'd been here a while, so I bet you know 'em all! Tell me about 'em! I passed a bowl car with a clown on it! Whose car was that? What about the star ship? Do YOU have a car? What's it like? Maybe I saw it! Or maybe you just flew here! Yeah, that's it! You flew here! 'cuz you're a bluebird!" Waffle rattled off happily, looking at everything around him, taking in the amazing sights of people and creatures that mostly seemed to have come from the pages of a fantasy or sci-fi novel, dotted with the occasional comparatively-normal person. Most of the seats were taken by mere spectators, but after a certain point, they had entered a section entirely populated by the mythical. "Did your wings hurt after you flew here? I bet they did! You probably flew a really long way! Where did you fly here from? What's it like there? Are there other bird people like you? Or other fox people? If there's other fox people, do you call them all Fox? How do you tell them apart? Is Fox from where you are? How'd he get here? He can't fly! And I bet he's too heavy for you to carry! Did HE drive here? Maybe I saw HIS car!"

"Look here, gray, I'm giving you ten seconds to shut up, or else I'll show you exactly why I've made it in these tournaments for the past eight years," Falco snapped at Waffle, causing him to quickly withdraw. "I'm leading you two to the benches and then leaving you there. If you're lucky you'll make it up there in one piece."

"Fine..." Waffle muttered. "You're not very nice..."

"No," Falco responded. "No, I can't say that I am."

"Might be good with a bit of pepper, though," Blik snarked back.

"Hey, you think that threat was just to your half-wit brother over there, tiny? Both of you, SHUT IT!" Falco shouted loud enough to attract the attention of several spectators. "Look, your section's right over there," Falco said, pointing to two empty spaces on the end of a bench. "I don't suppose I need to walk you over there? Because I REALLY don't feel like it, and besides, I need to go get ready." Without giving Waffle or Blik a chance to respond, he turned and began to walk away. "Just don't bug anybody. You never know if you'll get stabbed, set ablaze, or mind crushed by these people."

"Uh... great. Thanks," Blik said, walking off to the bench with Waffle as Falco left.

"Think he was lying?" Waffle asked. "Or do you think these people really want to hurt us?" Waffle said, sliding into his seat next to a young girl clutching a pink rabbit-like creature.

"Just don't talk to anybody and we won't have to find out," Blik answered, sitting next to him.

"Falco's just cranky, is all," the girl assured them both. "I was here last year, too, ran into him then. I'm used to it. I don't think anyone here would hurt you guys."

"You don't even look like you could," Blik said, brushing her off.

"I wouldn't say that... maybe I couldn't, but if Wigglytuff here had a reason to, I wouldn't doubt her."

"Tuff!" the creature chirped happily, waving its arms and smiling.

"Aw, how could she hurt me?" Waffle asked, patting Wigglytuff on the head, causing it to emit a content hum. "She's so cute!"

"And that would be your first mistake. Wigglytuff? Why don't you sing a little song for your new friend?"

After a nod and a vocalized affirmation, Wigglytuff began to sing a soothing melody. "Wigglytuff... Wigglytuff..."

"It's so... cute..." Waffle muttered, his eyes growing heavy.

"Don't... don't see what's so..." Blik started, unable to finish due to a yawn. "Cute... about it... just a stupid... blob..."

"All right, don't take it too far, you can stop," the girl told Wigglytuff.

"Don't... do that..." Blik muttered before snapping fully awake. "DON'T DO THAT AGAIN!" he shouted at full volume upon regaining consciousness. "That's just cheap!"

"Well, hey, anything it takes to win a Pokemon battle!" the girl said, smiling.

"A poe kay WHAT?" Blik asked, but quickly changed his mind. "You know what, I really don't care."

"Who are ya here to watch?" Waffle asked the girl, returning to patting Wigglytuff.

"I'm here to see Red," she responded.

"Red?!" Blik said. "First we get people named after their species and now Red?! What's your name, Blue?!"

"Green, actually," she responded.

"...I need a root beer," Blik grumbled.

"Snacks are that way," Green informed him, pointing. "I know they have vending machines with soda. You can probably get one there."

"Thanks for the tip," Blik said insincerely, getting up off the bench and heading to the machines.

"Get me one, too!" Waffle called after him.

"If I feel like remembering!"

* * *

"Hello... nice seeing you again..." Gordon said warily, slowly edging his way into the room.

"Can't say the same for you, really," the dog said. "Haven't you bothered me enough today?"

"Not just yet," Katilda said, running past Gordon and sitting on one of the tower's benches. It was completely made of wood, lacking padding, backs, or anything that would have made it more comfortable than what it was – a plank propped up by sticks.

"Wouldn't sit there if I were you," the dog said, bored. "Got splinters in some pretty unpleasant places. This really is where they put ya if you're last minute, huh? Shows how much of a damn they give about newbies."

"It's just because there's nowhere else to put us, that's all," Katilda said, ignoring his advice about the bench. "I don't think they expected three new sign ups on show day."

"They should have thought of that before offering places, then!" he snarled, sliding down against the wall until reaching a sitting position. "If this is the kind of seating we get, maybe I don't even want to be here!"

"Then don't be. Stop fussing," Katilda said, wedging the point of her sword between two cobblestones and wobbling it back in forth as a bored tic. "You're going to kill everyone's fighting spirit."

"Like I have any," the dog said, rolling his eyes. "I just want to watch people kill each other. And I don't think that cowardly lump over there has much fight in him, either."

"I beg pardon?!" Gordon snapped, his fur sticking up in defense.

"Oh, come on, I saw you edging away from me. You're SCARED," Kyoto sneered.

"I'll have you know that I am an honorary member of the Highland Quid Clan! A warrior! I'll bet I've felled more beasts than you can even imagine! I have no fear of the likes of you!"

"The Highland who?" the dog asked. "And maybe you were a warrior once, but obviously you've let yourself go."

"I have NOT, and I'll be more than willing to prove-" Gordon continued to scream, before slowly calming down, his fur once again flattening. His voice took on a calm, yet stern tone. "Sorry for losing my temper there... I have no interest in starting a fight here. There's no need. I'll be more than willing to prove myself once I'm on the battlefield. You'll see then."

"Trust me, I'm looking forward to it," the dog laughed, crossing his arms and lowering his head. "Until then, I need a little nap. Wake me up when things get started."

"If we're going to be stuck in this room with you all day, don't you think we should know your name?" Katilda asked.

"It's Kyoto," the dog replied. "Don't bother introducing yourselves, since I'm not going to even try to remember who you are. As far as I'm concerned, you're food. I don't care to be on a first name basis with my dinner."

"I'm getting a snack," Gordon said quickly, desperate to get out before things escalated any further. "I saw a few machines when Fox led us in. Would you like me to grab you anything, Katilda?"

"I'm good," Katilda said, not taking her eyes off Kyoto.

"What, you're not going offer me anything?" Kyoto said, keeping his head down.

"Why would I?" Gordon asked.

"Well, if you don't keep me full, I can't promise there won't be... problems... later in the day," Kyoto replied as he slowly raked his claws along the floor's stones, causing a horrid sound.

"Don't worry about that. I can promise there WON'T be a single problem," Gordon said darkly as he headed out the door.

"I don't like him..." he muttered to himself as he headed down the stairs. "I know I haven't known him long, but... I don't think I like him at all."


	4. Jealousy

"Why am I even here?" Blik grumbled to himself as he made his way down the stairways to the refreshment area. "Stupid place to waste a day... I REALLY need a root beer right now..." He kept on absentmindedly scanning the stands as he walked; who WERE some of these people? Turtles, monkeys, dinosaurs, things he'd never seen in any form in his life...

"What are you supposed to be, some sort of mushroom?" he asked one of the audience members, eying him (_her? How do you TELL?_ he thought to himself) up and down with an eyebrow raised. "A mushroom with feet?"

"I am a GOOMBA, thank you!" the creature snapped in a gruff voice. "And I'll have you know that I'm here to watch the great King Bowser! If he wanted to, he could roast you like a marshmallow!"  
"I'm guessing that goomba is some foreign language for 'mushroom with feet'," Blik answered back. "Why the heck is everyone here so strange looking?!"

"Speak for yourself, big ears," the Goomba answered. "Those things are as tall as you! But then, that's really not saying much.."

"I AM NOT SHORT!" Blik screamed, attracting the attention of several others. "Why does everyone here keep SAYING that?!"

"Well, well, have I hit a sore spot?" the Goomba asked. "Look, why don't you just move along? Some of us would like to watch the show. It's starting soon, after all."

"Like I care about this stupid show," Blik grumbled, walking away.

"Either way, stop picking fights!" the Goomba called. "You're gonna get yourself killed! Why, if I felt like it, I'd get up off this bench and I'd-"

"SHUT UP!" Blik shrieked. Even more eyes focused their attention on him as he left, but at this point, he was truly beyond caring.

* * *

"Threatening us... not believing me... calling me a COWARD..."

Gordon grumbled to himself the whole time he climbed down the tower, stomping with every step. "Who does he think he is?!" he shouted at no one in particular, stopping in his tracks and punching once at the wall in frustration. "Dishonorable, that's what he is, that's all he is..." Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Gordon continued down the stairs, his steps slightly softer, but still heavier than normal. Stomping at each stone stair did hurt his paws, he admitted, but his mind was on other things at the moment...

"Maybe I'll end up matched against him eventually," Gordon wondered aloud. "Then I can show him how much of a 'coward' I am!" An uncharacteristically wicked grin plastered his face as he fantasized in glee about wiping the cocky grin off of that hulking beast's face. Soon that Kyoto would see why one should never mess with a Highland warrior! He'd regret every single word, every single LIE that passed his lips! He'd regret ever messing with the all-powerful Gordon Quid!

"...no," Gordon told himself as he stepped out into the sunlight. "No, that's just as bad as him..." He sighed as he turned and headed towards the snack machines he'd seen earlier. "As much as I love fighting, I must keep the higher ground... I'm the honorable one here..." A smirk slowly crossed his face as another thought occurred to him. "Besides, it's just as likely that he's going to be eliminated in his first fight. Who says he's any good at this, after all?" Finally self-assured, Gordon held his head up high and walked with his usual pride, once again excited about the coming battles. He whistled a merry Scottish folk tune as he approached the soda machine.

"Drums in my heart are drummin', I hear the bagpipes hummin'... ah hah, Burpo's! Cheer!" He put in enough money to buy himself several root beers, pressed the button a few times, and waited as the bottles were slowly lowered, one by one, to the door so he could take them. A nice supply of cold sodas, the opportunity to both watch and participate in some sport fighting... what could possibly make the day better?

"Oh, hi, Gordon! I didn't know you'd be here!"

Gordon became absolutely rigid with shock at the sound of a very familiar voice behind him. Could it possibly be...? He turned around and, upon having his suspicions confirmed, tried his hardest to conceal the huge smile he so desperately wanted to show. It didn't completely work, but at least it wasn't so bad as to frighten her...

Of course. THIS could possibly make the day even better.

"I wasn't expecting you, either! So nice to see you, Human Kimberly!"

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the stands, Waffle listened intently as Green explained the entire concept of raising Pokemon.

"Don't they get hurt, though?" Waffle asked, still reaching over every once in a while to give Wigglytuff a quick pat. The Pokemon had absolutely no complaint about this. "I mean, fighting all the time and everything..."

"Not if you're careful," Green replied. "As a trainer, you learn to tell when your Pokemon has had enough and you should call it back. Anyone who lets their Pokemon fight past their limit really has no concern for the poor creatures and shouldn't even be allowed to train, if you ask me."

"I don't think they should be allowed, either," Waffle agreed. "That doesn't sound nice at all."

"But they're tougher than some of them look," Green continued on. "Take a look at Wigglytuff here, for example. People who don't train may not think she looks like much, but she can take quite a bit of damage before going down. Not to mention her lullaby..."

"I noticed that last part," Waffle pointed out.

"Most of the Pokemon I train are like Wigglytuff. Cute on the outside, but tough on the battlefield. Lulls people into a false sense of security. It's fun seeing the look on their face when my cute little Pokemon end up taking out their giant monsters with barely a scratch!" Green and Wigglytuff both laughed about this concept.

"So, how many Pokemon are there?" Waffle asked, utterly curious about the whole thing.

"Let's see..." Green looked up and placed her finger on her chin. "So far in official databases there's... 493 listed, I think? But some of them are extinct, some haven't even been proven to exist outside of legends, and researchers discover new species every once in a while. They update the database every five years or so."

"Are there any Pokemon that look like cats?" Waffle asked a bit too excitedly.

Green blinked a few times. "Oh... is that what you are? I was kind of wondering..."

"Hey..." Waffle whined, obviously offended.

"Er, sorry," Green apologized. "Anyway, there's a few cat-like Pokemon, yes." She looked slightly to her right to see someone entering the bench in front of them. "Like that one," she pointed at the white cat. "Those are called Meowth. They don't normally walk on their hind paws like that, though..."

"That's weird," Waffle said. "My brothers and I do that all the time."

The white cat pushed past everyone as he made his way toward an empty stretch of bench in front of Green and Waffle. He took his seat and faced forward, not interacting with anyone else around.

"I wonder where its trainer is?" Green asked no one in particular. "It probably learned how to walk like that from whoever trains it."

"Hey, I taught myself this!" the Meowth snapped, turning to face the pair. "And I don't have a trainer! Two stupid humans I travel with, but not a trainer!"

"...you can talk?" Green said in shock. "I've never seen a talking Meowth before..."

"Well, now ya have," Meowth said. "Taught myself that, too. Hey, you guys seen two idiots in R shirts around anywhere? James probably found a quarter on the ground or something, knowing him..."

"R shirts?" Green answered. "No, I haven't, but... R shirts? Your humans are from Team Rocket, aren't they!"

"Eh, I don't own 'em, I just travel with 'em," Meowth said. "But yep, we're Rockets, all right!"

"I've heard of you guys!" Green said. "Some of the most skilled crime leaders in Kanto are Rockets..."

"Got that right," Meowth said as he nodded, eyes closed and arms folded...

"...of course, most of the others are just petty thieves."

He opened one eye and glared. "Maybe SOME of them are, but Jesse, James, and I sure ain't!"

"Wasn't Jesse James some outlaw or something?" Waffle asked. "I think I saw that in a movie once."

"What? No," Meowth responded. "I ain't never heard of that." He leaned in towards Waffle and examined him closely. "You some sorta rare Pokemon? We're here to try to score some. Maybe then we can impress da Boss and I can be top cat once again!"

"I'm not a Pokemon, I'm a cat..." Waffle answered, slightly worried. "Not a cat Pokemon, either, just... a cat..."

"Eh? A cat? You sure are a funny lookin' one," Meowth answered. "Could probably pass you off as an undiscovered Pokemon. If you'd just come with me..."

"Leave him alone!" Green snapped. Wigglytuff inflated herself and glared in an attempt to make herself appear threatening.

"Geh!" Meowth made a frightened noise. "All right, fine, fine, just keep that thing quiet!"

"Tuff!" Wigglytuff said as she deflated herself, pleased that someone for once showed some proper fear.

"I'm gonna go look for those other two," Meowth said, shoving back the way he came in. "See you twerps later!"

"That was kind of strange..." Waffle said.

Green watched Meowth leave, fixated on the strange Pokemon. "You aren't kidding..."

* * *

Blik stomped his way towards the snack area, still seething. "IDIOTS! I'm surrounded by IDIOTS! All of them!" he ranted to himself, still ignoring the offended looks and insults he was getting. "I came to spend time with one person, ONE PERSON, but NO, instead I get to hang around with all these FREAKS!" His mood wasn't at all improved when he made it to where he was going and saw Gordon and Kimberly, talking and laughing.

"Oh, sure..." he lowered his voice so Gordon couldn't hear. "Of course, HE gets to spend time with HER... but as for ME..." He dragged himself over to the machines, making no effort to hide his scowl.

"Hey, Mr. Blik!" Kimberly greeted, waving. Blik didn't respond and simply went to lean against the side of the machine. "You OK?" she asked.

"I'm FINE," he spat. "You two go back to your conversation. I'm fine."

"Would you like to come up to the tower with me, Kimberly?" Gordon asked, knowing better than to approach Blik at the moment. "I should probably get up there for now, before the tournament starts. We can continue talking up there."

"I wish I could, Gordon, but I should probably get back to my parents," Kimberly answered. "I just came to get a drink, they're probably wondering what's taking so long..."

"Would you like a root beer?" Gordon asked, offering one of the bottles he had purchased. "You can have it if you want."

"Thanks!" Kimberly said, taking the bottle from him. "I'll look for you after everything's over, all right?"

"And I'll do the same," Gordon replied. "Hope to see you then!" The two of them waved goodbye to each other as Kimberly walked away. Once she was gone, Gordon picked up another bottle from the ground, went over to Blik, and held it out.

"Here, Blik," he said. "Go on, take it."

"Thanks," Blik muttered unenthusiastically, swiping the bottle.

"You're not drinking it already," Gordon pointed out. "Something's wrong."

"Yeah, well..." Blik sighed. "Is Katilda waiting in the same area as you?" he asked, somewhat hopefully.

"Oh, I see what's going on," Gordon answered. "You can come up and see her. I don't know if you're SUPPOSED to, but it's not as if there's any guards or anything, so..."

"I'm coming and I'm staying," Blik said, standing up straight rather than continuing to lean. "I came to be with her and that's what I'm doing."

"Of course," Gordon nodded. "Come on, it's this way." Blik followed Gordon back to the tower, a bit more lively than before.

* * *

"YOU WAIT UNTIL GORDON HEARS ABOUT THAT ONE! HE'S GOING TO TEAR YOU INTO LITTLE PIECES!"

"I'D LIKE TO SEE THE FATTY TRY!"

Katilda slammed the door shut and stood outside in the hall, fuming. "Big idiot..." she muttered to herself, gripping her sword. "Only so many death threats I can take before... ugh." She looked down the stairs as she heard footsteps. "Gordon?" she called down. "Gordon, is that you? Do you have someone else with you? It doesn't sound like just you..."

"I'm here, too!" Blik called up, running ahead of Gordon and standing next to Katilda.

"Hey there," Katilda said, smiling lightly and giving him a quick hug. "Good to see someone tolerable... er, not that you're NOT, Gordon," Katilda added quickly as he came into sight.

"I know what you meant," Gordon answered, chuckling. "Any reason you're not in there?"

"Kyoto," she said, shuddering immediately after as if simply saying his name made her feel completely filthy. "The moron keeps making comments about how delicious I look..." She shivered again. "He's CREEPY."

"Sounds creepy," Blik agreed, looking toward the door. "What does he mean by delicious, anyway?" he asked. "If he's flirting with you I will take his throat and I'll-"

"He's a dog," Katilda interrupted. "That dog we hit earlier, matter of fact. I think he means delicious literally."

"Should have run him over when I had the chance," Blik said. "Knew he would just be trouble. He's a DOG."

"I'll wait in the room anyway," Gordon said, going to turn the handle. "You two coming?"

"NO," Katilda said. "I am NOT going in there. I don't care if I end up missing the first couple fights. Dealing with him isn't worth it."

"And I'm staying with Katilda," Blik said.

"Very well," Gordon said with a nod. "I'll leave you two alone, then." With that, he went back into the room to wait.

"So... we're alone..." Blik said, shifting slightly.

"Yeah," Katilda said, smiling again.

"Exactly what I was going for," Blik said, smiling back. "Ya know, this is even better than what I had in mind... no crowd to worry about. Sure, we'll have Gordon and that jackass coming in and out every so often, but still. This probably as alone as we're going to get."

"I like the idea," Katilda purred. "Just the two of us, hanging out a little before I go down for my fight..."

"You don't have to," Blik said, still smiling. "You could just stay here with me. Or maybe we could just leave Gordon and Waffle here and go back home... Hovis won't bug us, I bet. We'll have the house as good as to ourselves. We can come back to get those two later."

"Are you hinting at something?" Katilda asked, prodding his shoulder with her index. "Hey, after the fight, maybe..."

"Come on, Katilda, NOT after the fight!" Blik protested. "I want to spend the day with you! I can't do that if you're going to keep wandering off to these stupid fights! You can still drop out, can't you?"

"I could, but I don't want to!" Katilda yelled back. "I've been waiting for this for weeks, Blik! I'm not going to walk away now!"

"So you're choosing this stupid tournament over your own mate, huh? Is that it?!" Blik snapped, his pleased expression very quickly fading away.

"That is NOT what I said, so stop putting words in my mouth!" Katilda shouted, towering over Blik as best as she could. "Why are you so intent on getting me to stop this?"

"BECAUSE I'M SCARED!" Blik pushed back against her. "Sheesh, I'm sorry for being worried about my own mate, all right?! Should I really apologize for wanting to spend time with you? What am I supposed to say?! 'OK, Katilda, you go on, I could spend the day with you but I'd much prefer you went and risked your neck'?!"

"Need I remind you who has saved YOURS? TWICE?" Katilda screamed. "Give me a little bit of credit, at least! Just because I'm a girl, doesn't mean I'm some sort of fragile little flower! In fact, I'd say I'm a lot more capable than you'll EVER be!"

"And so you have to go out and prove it? WHY?!" Blik asked. "Why do you have to do this instead of spending some time with me?!"

"Because, BLIK, as hard as it may be for you to believe, I actually have interests outside of YOU!" Katilda yelled. "As much as you think you are, you are NOT the center of my universe, so get that idea out of your swollen ego right now, OK? If you're looking for the kind of girl who's going to drop everything she is just for the sake of your pride, you're looking in the wrong place!"

"FINE THEN! GO GET YOURSELF KILLED!" Blik screeched at the top of his powerful lungs and pointed down the stairs. "This is what's so important to you? This stupid thrill seeking?" he hissed, his voice lowering. "Fine then. GO. See if I even care anymore. Get out. Stay down there. Doesn't matter to me anymore. GO!"

"...fine," Katilda said after a few moments of silence, her voice breaking. "Fine, Blik. I'll go. See you... or not, if you seriously don't care to. Maybe I don't, either." She turned her back and headed down the tower, her eyes slowly starting to water. If Blik even noticed, he felt no sympathy. Rather than wait in the hall, he went into the room with Gordon and Kyoto.

"Hey, you're the shrimp who tried to kill me this morning," Kyoto said. "What was all that just now about?"

Blik didn't respond. He simply headed toward the bench in front of the window and sat, his arms folded over the window sill."

"Blik?" Gordon asked, concerned. "Are you and Katilda OK...?"

"Leave me alone," Blik grumbled, resting his chin on his arms. "Just leave me alone."

"All right..." Gordon said slowly. "If you need to talk..."

"I won't," Blik said. "Now leave me alone." He continued gazing out the window, not really looking at anything in particular. After a few minutes of sitting in silence, he buried his face into his arms.

It was a preventive measure. If Gordon noticed that Blik had started to cry, he'd never hear the end of it.

* * *

Chapter dedicated to Madeleine Joan Blaustein

October 9, 1960 – December 11, 2008

"Just remember – I'm the top cat!"


	5. The CatEyed Boy and the Mystery Gifter

"Welcome to the arena, ladies, gentlemen, and creatures of all sorts!" A loud, male voice boomed over the speaker system, causing the audience to fall completely silent. "It's time for the 9th Annual Super Smash Brothers Tourney!" The entire crowd burst out into cheers and screams, drowning out the announcer. He waited for them to calm down before continuing. "We have forty competitors this year, more than we've ever had, and I'm sure they'll all work hard and give us a fantastic show! The rules are the same as each year – both fighters have one chance to knock their opponent out of the stage boundary before getting knocked out themselves. The last one standing moves on to the next round. The stage changes each match, with some of them holding their own traps, so watch out! Occasionally, items will be thrown onto the stage to be used for both offensive or defensive purposes, or to just possibly mess things up! This year, all items except for the Smash Ball will be in play-"

Most of the crowd erupted in jeers and boos. Even a few vulgar insults directed at the announcer were loud enough as to be clearly audible.

"Calm down, guys, calm down! It would be unfair of us to use the Smash Ball this year, because we have five new competitors who are unable to utilize its power! First off, two retirees, Pichu and Mewtwo, are returning for this year!"

The reactions to this news were rather mixed, ranging from excited squeals to more vicious insults.

"Not only that, but we have three, count 'em, THREE newcomers, right from host city Bakersfield! Little is known about them for now, but we'll all certainly be surprised by their abilities when Kyoto, Gordon, and Katilda make their debuts!"

"THAT'S MY BROTHER!" Waffle shrieked. "Gordon's my brother! And Katilda's my other brother's girlfriend! And my friend! Ya hear that, Green? It's THEM!"

"In that case, GO GORDON AND KATILDA!" Green shouted along with Waffle. Wigglytuff also joined in the cheering with an excited "TUFF!" The surrounding spectators were less enthusiastic, but the pair didn't even seem to notice.

"And, of course, the 35 from last year have all returned to compete! This will definitely live up to all tournaments of years past! Are you ready?! It's time for SUPER! SMASH! BROTHERS!"

The crowd screamed louder than ever as three screens around the stadium perimeter lit up. One was simply black except for white lettering that read "STAGE SELECT"; one read "ROUND 1" at the top in bold, red letters, while underneath listed that round's match-ups; and the third read "MARIO VS. LINK" with a picture of each above the names. The two walked onto the stage, shook each other's hands with a nod, and then proceed to their respective ends of the stage.

"And what better way to start than with two fan-favorites, Mario and Link!" the announcer said. "And they shall be fighting on..."

The stage select screen began rapidly flashing between various different locales. After a few seconds, it gradually slowed down before finally stopping on a dismal, run-down bridge.

"And it's one of Link's home turfs, the Bridge of Eldin!" As the announcer spoke, the plain stage that Mario and Link were standing on quickly began to change before taking the form of the bridge.

"Ready? GO!"

"Blik, look up! You have got to see this, it's amazing!" Up in the tower, Gordon prodded Blik a few times, trying to get him to remove his face from his arms. "For one thing, we're all the way up here, but LOOK! We can see it so clearly! It's almost as if I can reach out and touch the stage!" Indeed, it was if a spell of some sort had been placed on the window; the stage seemed incredibly close, as if Gordon and Blik were sitting in the front seats.

Blik responded with an uncaring grumble. "Why should it matter to me? You know I don't even want to be here."

Gordon looked up towards the match list. "Katilda's in the fourth match, you know," Gordon pointed out. "Against someone called Toon Link."

"Still doesn't explain why I should care," Blik responded, not making any motion to pay any sort of attention to what was going on outside.

"Of COURSE you should care! Your own mate is going to fight soon!" Gordon said. "She's about to show you once again the reason you fell for her! Didn't you fall for her strong nature, Blik? It's going to come out in full force! I would think you'd love to see that!"

"What mate?" Blik asked. "Who said I had a mate?"

"Mr. Blik..." Gordon sighed. "Come on. Tell me what's going on between you two."

"THAT is what's going on," Blik snapped, pointing down at the stadium but still not lifting his head. "She ran off to go get herself KILLED, chose this stupid thing over ME, and actually acted surprised when I was offended!"

"Offended over what? That she has interests besides you?" Gordon asked.

"Oh, come on, Gordo, not you too..." Blik whined. He scratched his claws against the sill's stone in frustration. "Gordon?" Blik said quietly. "I... I'm kind of scared."

"I understand," Gordon responded.

"I just don't get why she's so intent on this... what if she gets hurt?"

"She'll be fine, I'm sure," Gordon said in an attempt to comfort his brother.

"But what if she's not? What if something goes wrong? She's supposed to be up here with me... at least here, she's safe..."

Gordon didn't have any more answers.

* * *

Katilda sat alone in a corner of the room, surrounded by strangers. She skimmed over the room with her eyes, watching everyone's activities with mild interest. A giant spiked turtle was having some sort of argument with a penguin clutching a large hammer; she couldn't make out what the argument was over, but the penguin looked rather ready to swing his weapon. A small yellow creature of some sort – a mouse, maybe? - was chatting happily with a green dinosaur. Neither seemed to be speaking any form of English Katilda was familiar with. She was the only one as far as she could see who wasn't interacting with anyone else, but she didn't particularly mind. After all, her mind was on other things at the moment...

"Excuse me, but would you happen to be Katilda?"

She looked up toward the speaker, a child dressed in green clothing. He held a small sword at his side and stared Katilda down with eyes that resembled a stereotypical cat's.

"That's me," Katilda responded. "Aren't you Link? Weren't you just fighting?" she asked. "Except, you seem a bit shorter in person..."

"That's a bit hard to explain," Link said with a laugh. "That was me, and yet it wasn't. It's a long story involving time travel, reincarnation, and alternate universes. Best not to ask. Technically, we're two separate people... any other attempt to explain it would just make things worse, so I'm not going to try."

"It's already giving me a headache," Katilda answered with a smirk. "Must be confusing with two Links running around..."

"Not really. Everyone just calls me Toon Link," Toon Link responded. "That's even how I'm registered. It's no big deal, really. Anyway, is anyone bugging you? It's just, you're sitting back here, all to yourself..."

"No, no one's bothered me," Katilda assured. "Just wanted to keep to myself for a bit. Got a lot on my mind."

"Nervous about the fight?" Toon Link asked. "I know it's your first year here... but it's not so bad. This is my second. You get used to it pretty quick."

"Nothing to do with the fight," Katilda said. "It's personal."

"Gotcha," Toon Link said. Outside, the sound of an explosion and a pained growl was heard, shortly followed by a cutesy exclamation of "Jiggly! Jigglypuff!"

"And the winner is... JIGGLYPUFF!" the announcer shouted. "I don't believe it! Brilliant placement of a motion sensor bomb brought Donkey Kong down! Next up is one of our newcomers from Bakersfield, Katilda! She'll be facing second-year Toon Link!"

"That's us," Katilda said, grabbing her sword and heading out.

"Is that your weapon?" Toon Link asked, eying the wooden sword.

"Got that right," Katilda answered. "Trust me, I'll be fine."

"Good. Don't you think I'll be going easy on you just because you're a first timer," Toon Link warned.

Katilda simply smiled back. "Don't you think that you'd have to."

* * *

"Blik! Blik, would you pay attention to the tourney?" Gordon said, grabbing Blik's shoulder and shaking him.

"Gordon, I told you, NO!" Blik snapped. "I keep saying I don't give a crap about this thing, so leave me ALONE!"

"It's just..." Gordon said. "If you were paying attention you would have heard that they just announced Katilda... the match already started."

Blik's head shot up and he immediately began to focus on the match. The stage had transformed into a calm-looking little village setting which, according to the board, was known as "Smashville." The stage floated high above the crowd, making for quite a long fall if anyone were to get knocked off somehow. Katilda and Toon Link had already begun to fight, their swords bashing against each other, the sounds of wood against steel echoing throughout the stands. Katilda stepped back a few feet before rushing forward and swinging her sword directly at Toon Link. He lifted his own sword, blocking the attack, but was still knocked back. Following Katilda's lead, Toon Link also stepped back in order to charge forward, spinning around and holding his sword in front of him. Katilda cried out as the attack connected and she fell to the ground, her own sword skidding across the ground and off the stage. It fell the long way all the way to the bottom, hitting with a small crack as it shattered.

"NO!" Blik screamed and leaned out the window almost enough to fall out himself.

"Blik, get in here!" Gordon called out, grabbing his brother and pulling him back.

"I knew this was a bad idea!" Blik continued shouting. "She's going to get hurt! I KNEW she should have stayed with us! With ME!"

"Calm down, you idiot, the girl's getting up!" Kyoto snarled, watching from afar. Indeed, Katilda had begun to push herself back to standing position, although she was still unarmed. She jumped back as Toon Link threw a boomerang forward, but it returned before it could make it far enough to connect. Katilda looked around the stage frantically, hoping to find something useful; her search ended when her eyes fell upon what appeared to be a magic wand – a white and pink striped stick topped off with a star. Toon Link threw the boomerang again, but Katilda leaped over both it and his head, landing right next to the wand. She picked it up and pointed it at her opponent, mouthing something that remained inaudible to the audience up in the tower. She shook it around a bit, apparently trying to make it do something, but nothing happened beyond a few sparks falling from the points of the star. Toon Link charged at Katilda as she attempted to figure out her new weapon. In a final move of desperation, she swung the wand forward just as she had done with her sword. A series of small stars shot out of it, hitting Toon Link with a couple of small explosions and stopping him in his tracks.

"THAT'S IT, KATILDA! YOU CAN DO IT! BLAST HIM!" Blik cheered, once again hanging out the window. "KNOCK HIM RIGHT OFF!"

Katilda couldn't hear these shouts of encouragement; instead, she kept on swinging the wand and hitting Toon Link with the stars, taking a few steps forward with each attack. He was eventually cornered; another step back would have sent him off the edge. Confident that she had won the match, Katilda took one final swing...

...to absolutely no result. The wand wasn't even sparking anymore. Grateful for the opening, Toon Link jumped forward, swinging his sword...

...only to be smacked directly in the face with the wand's star. In a last-ditch attempt, Katilda had swung again. He stumbled backwards, losing his footing, until eventually slipping off the edge. He reached out in an effort to grab on and pull himself back up, but his fingers only just barely grazed the edge. A bubble caught him halfway through his fall and slowly lowered him to safety at the bottom. The wand vanished as soon as Toon Link hit the ground; the battle was over.

"INCREDIBLE! SIMPLY INCREDIBLE!" the announcer roared over the screeching of the crowd. "Newcomer Katilda may have lost her weapon, but still won her first match! Unbelievable! We may have a new champion on our hands!" The village setting morphed back into a plain flat platform and slowly lowered back down, crushing Katilda's sword in the process. Unconcerned about the sword, Katilda hopped off the stage and headed back to the tower, waving to the crowd as she left.

"Amazing..." Blik muttered, draped over the sill. Gordon stood by in case he fell, but otherwise made no move to steady him or pull him back in. "She's amazing..."

"Just got lucky with the wand, that's all," Kyoto grumbled. "No way she's going to make it through the rest of it."

Both Gordon and Blik turned to tell Kyoto just what they thought about that comment, but before they could, the door came swinging open as Katilda entered, immensely pleased with herself.

Blik's planned threat turned into "KATILDA!" as he raced to meet her. "Katilda! Are you OK?!"

"I'm fine, Blik, I'm FINE!" she laughed, so high on adrenaline that she forgot she was supposed to be angry at him. "A few cuts and bruises, but it's nothing I'm not used to. Man, this is FUN! I can't wait until the next fight!"

Blik opened his mouth to protest her going back, but was interrupted by a knocking on the door.

"I've got it," Gordon said, hopping off the bench and answering the door. A small pink blob stepped in, holding a covered tray in his two stubby arms.

"Hiiii!" he said cheerfully, closing his eyes and smiling. He held the tray up to Katilda without saying another word.

"Hello..." Katilda said slowly, lifting the lid off the tray. Underneath were a heart shaped glass container holding a red substance and a package wrapped in paper.

"Heart!" he said, lifting the tray a bit higher.

"Whoa whoa whoa, who are you even supposed to be, anyway?" Blik asked.

"Kirby!" he answered. "Heart!"

"I think he wants the lass to take it..." Gordon thought aloud.

"Well, gee, Gordo, you THINK?" Blik snapped.

"What do I do with this?" Katilda asked, taking the heart off of the tray.

"Um..." Kirby lowered the tray and frowned in thought for a few moments before once again brightening. He placed the tray on the floor and began to do a pantomime. He wobbled back and forth a few times, an exaggeratedly pained expression on his face. After a few seconds, he bent down, pretended to take the heart from where it once was, slammed the imaginary heart against the floor, and tilted it above his mouth. His face once again gained a smile as he threw the imaginary heart to the side.

"Heart!" he chirped again.

"We're supposed to EAT that?!" Kyoto balked. "What is WRONG with this place?!"

Katilda shrugged. "It's worth a shot." Following Kirby's example, she broke the container open against the wall and sipped the contents, shuddering at the taste.

"It's SWEET!" she exclaimed, smacking her lips a few times. However, her eyes caught sight of a cut she had acquired on her arm during the fight; slowly, it began to fade away, leaving behind no trace that it was ever there.

"Well, that's certainly useful," Gordon said.

"Thanks for that, Kirby," Katilda said. "Will you be bringing those every time?"

Kirby nodded happily. He then reached down, took the package off the tray, and handed it over to Katilda. "Present!" he said. His work done, he inhaled the bits of broken glass from the empty container and the container itself and deposited the garbage onto the tray. Once the tray was properly covered, he took it and left, shutting the door behind him.

"Go on, open it!" Gordon urged. Nodding, Katilda tore at the paper, revealing a yellow blade with spikes going up the sides. Gasping slightly, she wrapped her fingers around the golden handle and lifted it.

"What in the world...?" she muttered as she eyed the weapon, not quite believing it truly existed.

"There's a piece of paper in there, too," Blik said, picking it up and reading the note out loud.

_Great fighting out there! Noticed what happened to your sword, though... you did some quick thinking with the Star Rod, but I imagine you'd prefer something a bit more permanent, rather than hoping for something to be thrown into the match. You don't have to take me up on the offer, but you do have to make me a promise if you take this sword – if we get matched up, you'd better show me a good fight!_

"Is there a name on it?" Katilda asked, practicing swinging the sword to get a feel for it.

"No, no signature, that's the whole thing..." Blik answered, sounding distant. He dropped the note and walked back over to the bench, intent on once again ignoring everyone else.

"Blik?" Katilda asked.

"What do you want with me?" Blik asked, waving her off. "Apparently someone else has taken an interest..."

"What are you talking about?!" Katilda snapped.

"Already you've gone and made a new friend... you'd be happier with a warrior partner, wouldn't you? Instead you're stuck with 'the biggest coward in Bakersfield'. I get it, all right?"

"But I never – FINE!" Katilda snapped. "I give up!" She let her new sword clatter to the ground and stomped to the other side of the room, distancing herself from Blik as much as possible.

"BLIK!" Gordon shouted. "Blik, what's gotten into you?!"

"Just leave him alone, Gordon, your brother's an overprotective, jealous IDIOT!" Katilda snapped, folding her arms and turning away.

"Cool! Morons and their dating drama!" Kyoto laughed. "I'd rather watch THIS any day!"

Gordon shot a threatening glare at Kyoto before retreating to a third corner of the room, leaving the four as far away from each other as the room would allow. He sighed heavily to himself as he plopped onto the floor.

"This isn't at all what I'd had in mind for today..." he groaned, holding his face in his paws. "I do hope Waffle's having more fun than the rest of us... at least he doesn't have to be involved in all this. I'm sure he's already made a bunch of new friends, the way the lad is." Assured that at least one of his brothers was enjoying himself, Gordon unwillingly nodded off.


	6. I Think I Understand

"Hey! You still alive? Hello?! HEY!"

Gordon heard a voice calling to him. It seemed distant; he was still taking the time to regain consciousness. Just how long had he been out...?

"Wake UP, you lazy blob! Your match is coming soon!"

Gordon snapped awake at the word 'match', fully remembering where he was and what was going on. Kyoto was crouched in front of him, meeting him at eye level.

"Took you long enough," the dog sneered. "Now wake up. There's two more matches before you have to go down. I'm looking forward to seeing you get torn to pieces by..." Kyoto turned his head to look out the window. "Lucas? Yeah, it says Lucas. Now go on, get your ass kicked by this Lucas thing."

"I assure you, I won't," Gordon said, unfazed. His attention quickly found its way to the window bench. Katilda had taken a seat right next to Blik. Blik still had his arms folded over the sill with his chin in them, while Katilda sat up straight, the sword across her lap. Neither of them were talking to or even acknowledging each other.

"Have they...?" Gordon started, unsure of how to finish the sentence.

"Stopped pouting at each other? Not at all," Kyoto finished. "He hasn't moved, not even when she went to sit. You're related to a real idiot, you know that? And his taste in mates isn't all that great, either."

"Silence!" Gordon hissed. "You shall NOT talk about my family that way in my presence!"

"I'm terrified," Kyoto replied dully. "Look, cat, you don't tell me what to do, all right? I'll say what I want about your family and there's nothing you can do about it." The beginnings of a wicked smirk crossed his face. "Not if you want to keep your skin."

"What they're going through isn't even any of your business. Just stay out of it," Gordon warned as he headed toward the door. "You know... perhaps you should come down as well."

"And WHY would I do that?" Kyoto asked. He turned his head toward the board again. "There's three matches between us. I've got time."

"Would you prefer sitting up here with those two?" Gordon asked, crossing his arms.

"Well, NO..." Kyoto groaned.

"Then come downstairs. We can part ways once you do, but for now, those two need some time to themselves and you are NOT ruining it," Gordon replied.

"All right, FINE... you've got a point, those two just whining at each other is just gonna get on my nerves. I'll go down. You stay out of my way." The dog shoved Gordon aside and went for the stairs in silence.

"As long as you're where I can keep an eye on you..." Gordon muttered to himself. He took one final look at Katilda and Blik; neither of them had given any indication that they'd heard the discussion. Sighing, he walked out, quietly pulling the door closed. The pair continued to sit in total silence, not reacting to the fight, to each other, or to anything else. After a few moments, Katilda decided to take a chance and speak.

"So, Blik... we're alone now," she pointed out.

"Hm." Blik made a vague noise of acknowledgment, but nothing more.

"Pretty cool fight, isn't it?" Katilda continued on. "How much do you suppose Dedede's hammer weighs? It looks like it's heavy, but he's not even making an effort to swing it..."

Blik put forth no attempt at conversation. Still, Katilda pressed on.

"I love battles, I always have... even as a kitten. I was always that oddball they had to pull out of the woods. 'We found Katilda in the forest after dark,' the neighbors would gossip with each other. 'She was running around with that wooden sword again. Said she thought she saw a vampire. Why can't she just settle down and play with dolls, like a normal little girl?' My parents were always embarrassed about the gossip... that's why they gave me Alice Tishman. Hoped that if I had a chance to play with a girly toy, I'd become normal. Instead, Alice would come out to provide backup in case something happened to me." Katilda smiled to herself as she recounted the story, not paying attention to whether or not Blik was listening to her. "My dream was to one day meet a REAL monster and defeat it... but then I grew up and deep down, I figured that monsters weren't real. That never stopped me from trying, though. It probably should have... I told you before that I used to move around a lot. That's because I would always convince people that I had seen a real monster and get them to come help me... but, of course, they'd eventually realize what I'd done and ignore me afterward. Left friendless, I'd move and start it all over again. I never did learn, did I?"

"But it worked out that you didn't," Blik said, still sounding distant. "Otherwise, you never would have run into us and given us a reason to stick around. That's something..."

"Yeah. I suppose you're right," Katilda said, smiling. "In fact, I probably wouldn't have had reason to come to Bakersfield in the first place. And there ARE monsters here. A lot of them. So I was right."

"I don't know why they're so attracted to this place, really," Blik said. "They just... ARE."

"And that's why I never found them anywhere else," Katilda laughed. "They were too busy bothering you guys."

"Apparently," Blik answered, not amused. "Why are you telling me all this, anyway?"

"It's just..." Katilda said. "It's just, I... I dunno, maybe I could help you see where I'm coming from here. Battles and the paranormal have always been a part of my life. Nothing's going to change that."

"I'm just scared, all right?" Blik answered. "I don't even get the appeal! All I see is you running out onto that stage so that people can attack you!"

"And then I attack back," Katilda said. "Didn't you see me fighting Toon Link? Once I got that wand, it was as good as over!"

"True," Blik admitted. "And once you were fighting like that and had him cornered, well..." Blik fidgeted a little, unwilling to confess. "I think I fell in love with you all over again."

Katilda laughed and gave Blik a slight punch in the shoulder. "So you do enjoy it, then?"

"Only when it's you and you're winning," Blik responded. "Otherwise, I still don't get it."

"I guess that's close enough."

"And if you start LOSING..." Blik shuddered. "That's what I'm afraid of. I don't want to watch that when I know there's nothing I can do about it."

"Nothing you WOULD do about it, anyway," Katilda teased.

"Hey, I saved you once!" Blik shot back.

"If by 'saving' you mean 'provided a distraction by giving him something to pound unconscious'..." Katilda continued teasing.

"But I tried. Meaning I would. I never said I wouldn't. I just, well, CAN'T. And so there," Blik finished, returning Katilda's smile. "You get it now?"

"I think so," she laughed. "Not that you have to worry... if that last one is any indication, this should be CAKE."

"Hopefully," Blik answered. A few moments of silence passed before Blik once again spoke. "Katilda? I'm sorry."

"For what?" she asked.

"For yelling at you, for being jealous and selfish-" Blik began to list.

"You mean for being Blik?" she cut him off. "It's OK. I pretty much knew what I was getting into when I started dating you. It REALLY shouldn't surprise me."

"I'm still sorry," Blik insisted. "And I'll try to be better, I promise. ...towards you, mind. Not anyone else. Just you."

"If you started acting NICE to people, I'd honestly be a bit frightened," Katilda answered.

"At least you don't need to worry about that, then."

"Thank goodness." Katilda turned back toward the match; she had completely missed the outcome of the last one, and the one after had just ended. A blue blob stood in the middle of the ring amidst the crowd's cheers. He looked a bit like Kirby, only with a metal mask and a dark cape. Above his head, he held a rather familiar weapon...

"Blik! Look!" Katilda pointed. "I think that's him! He's the guy who gave me the sword! It looks just like it, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, you're right," Blik agreed before scoffing. "THAT'S the guy? So I was envious about a little marshmallow? Oh, PLEASE!"

"Yeah, I'd never leave you for a marshmallow. No, not even a warrior one," Katilda said. "Maybe if he were a bit more buff..."

"KATILDA!"

"I'm JOKING!"

* * *

Gordon's heart pounded as adrenaline rushed through his veins. He climbed the stairs up to the stage as the announcer introduced him, vaguely aware of what he was even saying.

"Introducing the second of our three newcomers, it's Bakersfield's GORDON QUID!" the announcer said. The crowd roared, certain people louder than others; Gordon could make out the voices of Waffle and Kimberly in particular. He made it a point to turn and wave to them. "His opponent, straight from Tazumili Village, is second-year Lucas!"

Gordon's eyes widened as his opponent stepped in front of him. _He's just a child! _was the main thought traveling through his mind. Lucas looked around warily before taking a deep breath and bending forward in a battle stance, steadying himself by placing one hand on the ground.

"And the stage... oh, we'll be fighting on Lucas's turf! New Pork City!" The stage began its transformation, taking the form of several tall buildings. This one was larger than previous stages; it only just barely fit in the boundaries. Gordon and Lucas each started on their own separate platform in front of the buildings.

"Ready? GO!"

Gordon didn't react at first; was he truly expected to fight a child so young? He couldn't have been older than twelve! He simply stood and watched, curious as to what Lucas would do.

"P... K..." Lucas muttered, his head bowed deep in thought. In one quick motion, it shot up, a glint of determination in his eye. "THUNDER!" His entire body crackled with lightning as a bolt shot forward, heading directly toward Gordon.

"YIPE!" Gordon moved to jump, but didn't make it in time. Electricity seized his entire body. After a second which felt like minutes, the sensation ceased. Gordon collapsed to his knees shuddering as the pain faded.

"So... that's how..." he muttered to himself, still struggling to once again move. Another bolt came rushing forward, but this time, Gordon was ready. He sprung up over it, landing one platform over to where Lucas had moved. Claws unsheathed, he swung at Lucas, knocking him back a bit, not going easy now that he knew just what Lucas was capable of.

"PK... FIRE!" Lucas shouted, shooting small bursts of fire from his hands in quick succession. Gordon backed away quickly as to not be hit, but the fires remained on the ground, forming a wall between the two fighters.

"PK THUNDER!" Lucas shouted again, the bolt going directly through the flames. Gordon ducked, causing it to fly over his head before vanishing into oblivion.

"This... isn't working..." he muttered to himself. "I can't just rush at him... think, Gordon, think!" Deciding that getting close to Lucas was much too dangerous, he jumped back, crossing the platforms. Lucas proceeded to give chase, shooting fire and lighting at Gordon. He managed to dodge the bulk of it, but it was all he could manage to do; he had no opening to fight back. Before he knew it, he had reached the edge of the final platform. He turned around to see Lucas charging at him with a stick.

"Where'd he get that?!" Gordon asked no one in particular as he rolled to the side, dodging the stick and just barely avoiding falling off the edge. Lucas kept on trying to close the gap between the two as Gordon more or less repeatedly circled the platform's perimeter. His mind was clouded with utter panic; he couldn't run forever, and THEN what?

Suddenly, the sky grew dark as an audible 'ding!' rang out. Both Lucas and Gordon turned toward the sound, which had come from the other side of the stadium. A pink devil-like creature had appeared on one of the platforms and was slowly making its way across the stage, grinning hungrily.

"It's the Ultimate Chimera!" the announcer explained for the benefit of those who did not already know. "One bite from the Chimera is enough to send anyone off the board, and he has no intention of leaving until he's eaten its fill!"

_That's it! _A plan in his mind, Gordon dropped off the platform and landed on a smaller one below. "Come on, Lucas!" he called. "Come get me!"

Lucas tried to send a bolt down to the platform, but the space between the two above was too narrow; the bolt simply hit the sides and vanished. Realizing he'd have to get closer, Lucas jumped down to Gordon. Before his feet could hit the ground, Gordon made another leap, landing on another ledge below where the Chimera was standing. The Chimera looked down and, upon seeing his next meal, slowly lumbered forward. Satisfied that things were going according to plan, Gordon turned to face Lucas as he jumped over. Realizing that Lucas could only use one psychic power at a time and was currently using one of them in order to jump far enough, Gordon reached over and grabbed him in mid-leap. Trying his best to keep a hold on the squirming child, he turned around to face the Chimera, who had reached the bottom and was quickly headed towards the two fighters.

"Catch!" Gordon shouted, throwing Lucas forward. He tried to stop before it was too late, but it didn't work. The Chimera made its move. After one quick chomp, Lucas went speeding through the air, the bubble catching him just before he hit one of the buildings. The Chimera immediately vanished as soon as the bubble made its appearance, signifying the end of the match. Gordon stood up straight and put out his chest in pride as the stage changed back to normal.

"And the second newcomer also wins his first match!" the announcer said as the crowd screamed. "This year has certainly been interesting!" Gordon walked off the stage, waving to the crowd. He noticed Waffle in the middle of the center section; he aimed a wave in that direction, taking just a second to wonder who the girl with him was and what she was holding. Whoever she was, she was standing up and screaming "GO GORDON QUID!" at the top of her lungs. As he reached the exit, he finally found exactly where Kimberly was sitting; she was on the right edge of the seating half-circle, towards the front. The two exchanged bright smiles for a few moments before Gordon quickly hurried out of the ring, not wanting to risk embarrassing himself now, of all times.

* * *

"You'd think... they'd install... an elevator..." Gordon panted, reaching the top of the stairs for the third time that day. He dragged his feet through the hall until he finally reached the door and collapsed against it. Barely even having the energy to lift his arms, he turned the doorknob and slowly pushed the door open. He peeked in to see what was going on.

"GO FOX!" Katilda was standing on the bench, cheering. "You can do it! Melt that piece of scrap metal!"

"What's with the little robot, anyway?" Blik asked, still in his seat. "It looks like a children's toy."

"That thing shoots lasers from its eyes," Katilda pointed out. "If it's a children's toy, then I wish I had one when I was younger."

"Don't think it'd be girly enough," Blik said.

"So I'd sneak it!" Katilda laughed.

Blik chuckled back. "You know... after actually TRYING to get into this... I don't know, I kinda like it," he said. "Not NEARLY as much as when you're out there, but it's better than sitting at home doing nothing."

"Aw, I entertain you more than a bunch of strangers ever could," Katilda cooed exaggeratedly. Her joking manner quickly faded as the two smiled sincerely at each other. As a sign of affection, Blik moved his tail over and wrapped it around Katilda's. She returned the gesture.

"So, I take it you two have forgiven each other?" Gordon asked, making his presence known.

"GACK!" Blik quickly pulled his tail back as his face turned beet red.

"Yeah, everything's fine now," Katilda said, unable to resist the urge to giggle at Blik even as she spoke to Gordon. "We had a talk, and we both understand where we were coming from, so..."

"That's good," Gordon said, taking a seat next to Blik. "Did you guys watch my fight?"

"Sure did!" Katilda answered. "Good thinking at the end!"

"Good running at the beginning," Blik said.

"Well, you have a little kid shooting fire at you and see what you do," Gordon answered.

"And does that even count as a win for you?" Blik continued on, ignoring his brother. "Technically it was that kee-mar-ah thing that beat him."

"All right, Blik, that's enough," Katilda warned him.

"I promised I'd be nicer to you, not him," Blik said, pointing at Gordon.

"Good point. Insult away," Katilda replied. "So, how's the jerkass doing?" she asked Gordon. "Did he eat anyone while you were down there?"

"You mean Kyoto?" Gordon asked. "No, he didn't interact with anyone much. Just sulked in a corner. One person did attempt to make conversation with him, but Kyoto just growled and sent him running."

"No surprise there," Blik said, rolling his eyes. "What do you think his fight's gonna be like? Think he'll get maimed?"

"One can only hope..." Katilda said. "It'd certainly be fun to see. It'd be a nice bit of karma for him if he was the one getting chewed on by that Chimera, don't you guys think?"

Gordon and Blik nodded in agreement.


	7. Tensions Are High

"And with that, all of our contestants have had one battle! We are now down from forty to twenty!" the voice boomed over the loudspeaker. "We will now allow a quick break for the audience and contestants to do whatever necessary before starting round two! Note that in this round, due to technical difficulties random stages will no longer be utilized; all future fights will now be fought on the Battlefield stage. Due to the last-minute changes made this year, this is necessary to simplify things."

"That last one was rather short," Gordon observed, his brow furrowed.

"Agreed," Katilda said with a nod. "That was just cruel. Poor little guy, getting thrown across the stage like that immediately at the start..."

"If Pichu lost THAT early in the fight, maybe it's for the best," Blik said with a small shrug. "Did you see the size of him? He was PUNY! At least that Mewtwo guy made it quick!"

"He could have shown a bit more mercy," Gordon pointed out. "I do hope Pichu's all right."

"Just stuff a heart down his throat and he'll be fine," Blik said. "It worked for you and Katilda, didn't it?"

"Honestly, I kind of wish Kyoto had to fight Mewtwo," Katilda said. "Can you imagine watching HIM getting picked up by Mewtwo's mind and chucked into a stone pillar?"

"Fine bit of karma, that," Gordon replied. "Chimera, telekinesis, fire... just, something!" Upon realizing what he'd just said, Gordon hung his head. "I know it's a dishonorable wish to have, and the Highland Quid Clan would be correct to be utterly ashamed of me," he said with a heavy sigh. "It's just... I don't know. I apologize."

"Don't," Katilda insisted. "He's been asking for it since this morning. I just can't believe he won his fight with Samus!"

"Not before getting tazed. Repeatedly," Blik reminded them, grinning wickedly. "That was fun to watch!"

"But still... he bounced back, and quick," Gordon said. "Once he wasn't stunned and he got a hit in, let's face it, the match was as good as over..."

"There's no denying he's a tough fighter," Katilda responded, chewing her bottom lip. "Think we'll be able to take him if we have to, Gordon?"

Blik immediately sprung up and draped an arm over Katilda's shoulder. "Well, of COURSE you can! You're KATILDA! You're the one who said this thing's going to be cake! No crummy dog is going to defeat MY mate!"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Blik," Katilda said, smirking. "Now, anything to say to your brother?"

"Huh?" Blik sat blankly for a few moments."Oh, right. Gordon, too. You can do it, Gordo. We're rooting for ya." Blik's 'encouraging' words were devoid of any sort of actual emotion.

"Thanks, Blik," Gordon answered sarcastically. Katilda rolled her eyes and snorted.

"Oh, come ON, you guys know I'm not exactly sentimental or anything," Blik snapped.

"I really am a bit worried, though," Gordon said, ignoring Blik's failed cheering attempt. "I know I've taken worse when it comes to pure strength, but... I'd never seen so much HATE in one person before we ran into Kyoto. He's not a pleasant lad and he's not going to play this fair."

"Where'd he go, anyway?" Blik asked, looking around the room. "He never did come back after his fight with Samus."

"Did you guys WANT him to?" Katilda asked. Blik and Gordon shook their heads vigorously.

* * *

Kyoto stood in the snack area, his back against the glass of one of the candy machines. In one of his paws, he held a small meat stick, still in the wrapper. He turned it over in his paws, examining it.

"Can't believe this is all I could afford from what I could find on the floor..." he muttered to himself before tearing into the plastic with his teeth. After peeling the wrapper off with his mouth and spitting it onto the ground, he shoved the whole snack into his mouth in one go. "At least there were enough people stupid enough to drop their money all over the place..."

"Pi? Chu pi?"

Mid-chew, Kyoto looked down at the source of the sound. A small, yellow, mouse-like creature was staring up at him, smiling hopefully.

"Oh, hey, I remember you. Pichu, right? The little runt who just got slaughtered in that last fight! What do YOU want?" Kyoto spat, spraying forward bits of meat.

"Chu..." Aware that Kyoto couldn't understand him, he began gesturing towards the snack machine. "Chu?"

Kyoto took a moment to swallow what remained in his mouth. "Oh, you want me to move?" he asked.

"Pi!" Pichu nodded happily, having gotten his point across.

"And why would I do that?" Kyoto asked, one eyebrow raised.

Pichu's face fell at this unexpected response. He continued crying out "Pi! Chu!" and waving at the vending machine, a pleading look in his eyes.

"I'll move when I'm done with it, OK, rat?" Kyoto said. "Not like you're on a schedule like me. You LOST. When I move, you can get your cheese or whatever. But for now, I'm staying right here," he insisted, his arms folded. "It's better than where I'll have to be."

"Piii..." Pichu's eyes began to well up with tears. He turned his head toward the ground, utterly dejected.

"Pi chu?" The sound of a third voice, which sounded similar to Pichu's, only slightly deeper, came floating through the area. Kyoto and Pichu both looked towards the source. Pichu's face lit up with glee as he ran towards the speaker and out of Kyoto's sight; Kyoto watched him go, vaguely wondering where he was off to.

"Pipichu!" Pichu quickly came running back, dragging Pikachu over to Kyoto. He pointed at the dog and began explaining something to Pikachu, speaking so rapidly that even if Kyoto knew Pichu's language, he likely still wouldn't have understood, not even with the wild gestures the young Pokemon was making. Pikachu responded just as rapid fire, his eyes widening and then narrowing as Pichu told his story. Once Pichu finished, tears again in his eyes, Pikachu's cheeks began to spark with electricity as he approached Kyoto, glaring.

"CHU!" Pikachu growled.

"I'm letting you know right now, rat, I have no idea what you're saying," Kyoto responded, bored. "And if you attack me, I WILL make you regret it. I've had enough electricity for one day."

"KA CHU!" The sparks became bigger as Pikachu grew more and more agitated. Pichu stood on the sidelines, cheering him on.

"Pathetic," Kyoto said to Pikachu before looking up and focusing on something behind the electric Pokemon. "And speaking of pathetic, look who's here now..." Both Pokemon turned to see just what Kyoto had seen. A young girl clutching a Wigglytuff and a gray cat were walking toward the machines, both of them chatting up a storm.

"That's unbelievable!" Green exclaimed. "You're lying, you HAVE to be! There is NO WAY that aliens mistook your house for a spaceship! That's ridiculous!"

"But it's true, I swear!" Waffle insisted. "They came and they tried to take it away! But it was all OK in the end, don't worry. My brother Gordon's a really good fighter! He took care of them!"

"I can tell he's a fighter, trust me," Green said with a laugh. "I mean, after watching him with Lucas... he loves the battlefield, doesn't he?"

Waffle nodded. "He's a born warrior, and he can take anything!" he said as he walked ahead of Green towards the snack machine, his head turned back to face her. "I bet he could even beat that stinky old dog, Kyo-" Waffle turned to the front again and looked up, finding himself face to face with a very angry Kyoto.

"Care to run that by me again, cat?" Kyoto snarled, teeth bared.

"Um... I... I didn't say nothin'..." Waffle mumbled, feebly defending himself. "So, can I... can I get something from the machine and then run away in terror so you don't eat me?"

"I have a better suggestion," Kyoto replied, straightening himself up to full height and slowly advancing on the terrified Waffle. "You stand still. It'll only take a few seconds, and I bet you don't feel a thing-"

"TUFF!" Kyoto's words were cut off by twenty-six pounds of Pokemon flying into him and knocking him to the ground. Before Kyoto had a chance to move, Wigglytuff jumped onto his chest, grabbed his neck, and began repeatedly slamming his head against the ground.

"WIGGLYTUFF! Wigglytuff, stop that! Get back here!" Green called out to her Pokemon, but Wigglytuff showed no sign of obeying. Smirking, Pikachu also approached the fray and began charging for a large outburst of electricity. Pichu stood on the sidelines, excitedly cheering.

"That! Is! ENOUGH!" Green roared, loud enough for all three Pokemon to stop and turn to look at her. "Wigglytuff! I'm DISGUSTED with you! Get off of him! NOW!"

"Wiggly... wigglytuff..." she protested, pointing at Waffle and giving Kyoto one final smack.

"I don't CARE what he said to him! That was over the line! Leave him alone! You too, Pikachu! I know you're not mine, but I've seen you and your little brother around here quite enough to know you guys know better than that!"

"Chuuu..." Pikachu whined, his ears drooping. He quickly slinked away to his brother's side and sat on the ground, pouting. Pichu began patting him comfortingly.

"You too, Wigglytuff," Green repeated. "DOWN." With a whining noise similar to Pikachu's, she finally hopped off of Kyoto and returned to her trainer's side. Green scooped the Pokemon back into her arms. "Well? Kyoto, is it? I'm really sorry about Wigglytuff, but on the other hand, maybe you learned a lesson about threatening people. These guys here can get pretty defensive."

Kyoto sat up, rubbing the back of his head and wincing. "I don't learn moral lessons from MARSHMALLOWS," he snapped, his voice once again filled with malice. "Now I just know to try to get this cat alone, rather than trying it when THESE three around." Kyoto then stood up and brushed off the dirt from his fur. "I'm going to go wait with the other fighters. I'll head up to the tower afterward. Maybe then I can do something about those OTHER cats."

"YOU'LL LEAVE MY FAMILY ALONE!" Waffle shouted, but after receiving a threatening glare from Kyoto, he quickly switched to whimpering and zipped behind Green in fear.

"I don't think you'll have to worry, Waffle," Green said. "Gordon and Katilda are twice the fighters Kyoto will EVER be, right?" Waffle gave a small, short nod, hoping Kyoto wouldn't react to his agreement.

"It's settled, then. Come on, Waffle. Let's go back to the stands. Away from this MONSTER." Green turned on her heels and walked away. Waffle hurriedly followed. They heard Kyoto grumbling something about idiots as they left, but were soon out of earshot.

"...you didn't have to stop Wigglytuff, really," Waffle said once he was sure Kyoto could no longer hear him. "I mean, Kyoto's been like that since this morning. He kind of deserved it."

"I know, but it's not our job to punish him for it," Green replied. "Wigglytuff could have gotten hurt." Wigglytuff 'tuff'ed angrily at this statement and inflated herself slightly.

"We don't know what he's capable of," Green told her Pokemon. "You've gotten hurt running into things like that before." Wigglytuff slowly deflated, finally conceding to her trainer's opinion.

"So... what about the two yellow ones?" Waffle asked in order to break the awkward silence.

"Oh, that's Pikachu and Pichu," Green said. "Pikachu's the older one. The one who tried attacking Kyoto. He's been fighting in these tournaments since the start, apparently... longer than I've even been coming."

"What about the younger one?" Waffle asked.

"That one's Pichu, obviously. He's Pikachu's little brother," Green explained. "Pikachu's really protective of him... I'm guessing you know what that's like, right?"

Waffle nodded. "Gordon's like that with Blik and me, too. Well, with EVERYONE, really, but since we're his family..."

"Yeah, I had a feeling," Green said.

"But I don't understand," Waffle continued. "If Pikachu's so protective, why did he let Pichu join the tournament? I saw what happened to him against Mewtwo. He really got hurt..."

"From what I can tell, he normally DOESN'T," Green said. "This is just what I've heard, since I'm kind of new here, but apparently Pichu fought for a few years a while back before Pikachu made him stop. What I DO know as a Pokemon trainer is that young Pichus don't have much control over their electricity and end up hurting themselves as much as anyone else, so I can see why Pikachu really doesn't want him here. But when it came to calling people to fight this year, there was a lot of pressure to get some drop outs to fight again. Thus, we've got Pichu and Mewtwo here now."

"Hm." Waffle made a small noise of acknowledgment, but didn't have much else to say on the subject.

"Now come on," Green said. "It looks like they're setting up for the next round. We need to get seated soon."

"Gotcha!" Waffle replied happily, before suddenly stopping in his tracks. One of his eyes gave a little twitch.

"Waffle?" Green asked. "Waffle, you OK?"

"I... I..." Waffle sniffled. "And now it's too late... I..." His sniffles erupted into a full-out wail. "I forgot to get my root beer!"

Green wasn't entirely sure how to respond to the little outburst.

* * *

Green was right about it almost being time; the second the trio had returned to their seats, the announcer's voice came through the loudspeakers, informing the stadium that round two was about to start. Waffle, Green, and Wigglytuff were far more into the tournament than most of the audience; most of the people surrounding them were working to make distance between themselves and the group, unsure of the trio's mental stability.

"GO, PEACH!" Green shrieked. "KNOCK HIS HEAD OFF!"

"NO! DEDEDE!" Waffle protested. "He has a giant HAMMER! DEDEDE! DEDEDE!"

"WIGGLYTUFF!" She wasn't cheering for anyone in particular; Wigglytuff simply wanted to join in the group's screaming. Waffle stood on the bench and screeched in victory as Dedede's hammer connected with Peach for the last time, sending her soaring out of the ring.

"I knew it," Waffle taunted as he sat back down, sticking his tongue out a bit at Green. "Penguins are just BETTER."

"All right, fine, you won that one," Green laughed. "Who's next?"

"Lessee..." Waffle said, looking at the board. "Mr. Game & Watch... what kind of name is that?"

"Oh, he's... he's kind of weird," Green said. "He's just... he's weird. I can't even explain him. Who's he fighting?"

"Um..." Waffle faced the board again. "Oooh! Look! It's Gordon's turn!" Waffle said excitedly, pointing at the board. "Gordon's up! GO GORDON!" Waffle grabbed Green and began to shake her as Gordon walked onto the stage, oblivious to what the announcer was saying about him. "IT'S GORDON!"

"C'MON, GORDON QUID!" Green shouted, getting as into it as Waffle. Another, younger voice began shouting his name as well, loud enough that Green and Waffle could hear her from halfway across the stadium.

"Any idea who she is?" Green asked, pointing toward the girl who had stood up and cheered. She was far enough that Waffle could barely see her; all he could really tell was that she had brown hair and wore a pink t-shirt. However, that was enough information for him.

"Oh, I think that's Human Kimberly!" Waffle said. "She and Gordon are really close friends! See, look, Gordon's waving to her! It's gotta be her!" Indeed, Gordon had started waving excitedly in Kimberly's direction, a completely ridiculous smile on his face.

"'Human' Kimberly?" Green asked. "Why 'Human' Kimberly? I mean, I can tell she's a human..."

"Long story," Waffle replied. Before he could even begin to elaborate, Gordon's opponent had stepped into the ring. Gordon stared ahead, obviously at a bit of a loss for words. Waffle also stared blankly, as confused as his brother. A completely black, humanoid silhouette had walked onto the stage, beeping with every step. He turned his head and raised his arm in one movement; one instant he faced forward with his arm at his side, and the next, he had turned and waved. His waves also moved oddly; his hand went from left to right and back again, but never actually occupied the space in-between. More obvious was a fact that was equally horrifying; when he turned his head, Waffle could see he was totally flat.

"Um... Green?" Waffle asked. "What... just... just what is that?"

"I don't... I don't really know," Green admitted. "I mean, I know he's been on the fighting circuit longer than anyone here, even though he joined the tournament later, but that's it. I don't know what he's supposed to be, I don't know where he came from... I don't know anything about him."

"So Blik wasn't kidding," Waffle said. "He said he saw a flat car but I didn't believe him... stuff like this really exists?"

"Hey, you're the one who was telling me about stuff like your brother growing another head," Green replied. "Are you really skeptic about it?"

"It's just weird," Waffle muttered, returning his focus to the fight, which had started without his noticing. "Um... Green?" Waffle asked. "Did he really just hit Gordon with a TURTLE?"

"Got that right," Green replied. "I told you, Game & Watch is strange."

Unlike in his previous battle with Lucas, Gordon was a lot less wary about getting close. Claws at the ready, Gordon got in hit after hit, expertly dodging most of his opponent's off-kilter attempts strike. Gordon's attacks, however, were eventually cut off as he was knocked across the stage by Game & Watch's frying pan.

"Don't let him get ya, Gordon!" Waffle cried. "You can beat this guy easy!"

Gordon shook himself off as he stood and immediately launched himself in the air to avoid Game & Watch's attempt to smack him with the chair. After landing behind him, Gordon made a swift kick, knocking his foe to the ground. Having once again gotten an opening, his barrage continued, sending Game & Watch closer and closer to the edge despite his attempts to fight back.

"GRAB THE PARASOL!" Green shouted, getting far too into it than she should have. "FINISH HIM OFF WITH IT!"

"Parasol?" Waffle asked, confused. "Why'd they throw a parasol down?"

"Don't question it, just watch!" Green laughed. Though he probably didn't hear her advice, Gordon still grabbed the parasol and cornered the fallen Game & Watch. After an unclear battle cry, he swung with all of his might, sending Game & Watch soaring past the boundary without giving him a chance to even attempt recovery.

"AND THAT'S IT!" the announcer said. "Gordon Quid has defeated his second opponent! Our current champions had best watch out for this newcomer!" Gordon hopped off the stage and ran towards the exit, still filled with adrenaline. Before he could leave, however, Kimberly stepped out of the stands and, after the two had a short conversation unheard by Waffle and Green, pulled him into a tight hug, leaving him speechless and motionless.

"You say they're just friends?" Green asked, smirking slightly.

"You know..." Waffle said. "I don't even really know. It's hard to explain."

"Another long story?" Green asked.

Waffle nodded.

* * *

"What a fight!" Gordon announced as he stepped through the tower door, slamming it against the wall as he opened it. "I'm really enjoying this whole thing..."

"What took you so long?" Blik asked. "Yours ended two matches ago."

"I ran into Kimberly again," Gordon explained, taking a seat on the bench. "We stood and talked for a little bit. After all, why wouldn't I take the opportunity?"

"Because you're completely obsessed with her, that's why," Blik answered.

"Like you're not crazy about your own lass," Gordon protested. "Speaking of which, has Katilda come out for this round yet?"

"Not yet," Blik answered. "One just ended. A guy in overalls who shot fire from his hands lost when some blue jackal thing beat him over the head with a paper fan. I still don't get it. And before that, Kyoto was fighting some guy named Wario, and... I'd... rather not talk about that one."

"After my own match, I doubt anything else here can take me by surprise," Gordon replied. "Well, this next one's the last for the round, so Katilda should be coming out, right?" he asked, but received no response. "Blik? Blik, I said that Katilda should - ...oh." Gordon looked out the window to see that the next match had already started. "It seems she already has."

"Uh-huh..." Blik muttered, gazing dreamily at the fight. "Against a stupid creampuff, too. No way she's losing THIS one."

"Hey, cats!" Kyoto snarled. Gordon turned to look as he stood in the doorway, breathing heavily with his teeth bared. "I had a run-in with your little-" Kyoto turned to look at Blik, noticing that he had absolutely no reaction. "What's he drooling at?"

"Katilda's up," Gordon answered simply, trying not to engage the dog.

"Oh, he doesn't want her dead anymore?" Kyoto snorted. Gordon had no response for this offensive comment. "Whatever. I don't care. Anyway, I ran into that OTHER cat with you guys earlier. He's your brother, isn't he? Well, whoever he is, he's real chicken... enough that he had to get his girlfriend's puffy little pet to fight his battle."

"Girlfriend?" Gordon asked.

"Her pet, yeah," Kyoto responded, his attention slowly turning toward the battlefield. "Looked kinda like that thing the cat's fighting, matter of fact. Just with bigger ears. He's actually more cowardly than a pink blob, can you believe it? But for that... he's REALLY gonna have to watch his back. I'm just sayin'."

"You lay one beastly paw on Waffle and you'll REGRET it," Gordon hissed, deciding it best not to inquire further about the girlfriend comment. "I did NOT come here today to have to deal with a monstrous creature such as yourself, and if you give me any reason to be justifiably annoyed with you, enough that a fight would be made necessary-"

"KATILDA!" Blik cheered, oblivious to what was happening behind him. "I knew you could do it, baby! No singing, squishy lump could EVER defeat YOU! YEAH!"

"...you're both idiots," Kyoto grumbled, retreating to his corner.

"What's his problem?" Blik asked, only just noticing Kyoto's presence.

"I neither know nor care," Gordon said, "as long as he stays away from us. So that's it for round two, then?"

"Yep, that's it," Blik answered. "See, look, the next round's bracket is going up now. Let's see... Dedede and Pikachu... a penguin and a rat, fun... Lucario and Kirby... I think Lucario was that jackal thing before, and isn't Kirby the one going around with the hearts? There's a lot of squishy creatures here, it's weird... Katilda's fighting something called Bowser, don't remember who that is, but if it has the word "bow" in it, it can't be too bad..."

"Um... lad?" Gordon interrupted. "I'm in the last match, and, I, um..."

"Who could YOU fight to get you so freaked out?" Blik asked, his eyes flicking towards the bottom of the board. "I mean, come on, you fought a little kid and a shadow thing, how much worse could it possibly-" He finally comprehended just what he was reading and unwittingly swore out loud.

"What are you cats freaking out about?" Kyoto asked from his corner. "What's gonna try tearing fatty over there to pieces this time?"

"Well..." Gordon started. "You know how I was just warning you not to give me any need to attack you? I think that need's been given to me just now."

"What are you talking about?" Kyoto asked, walking over to the board. The very moment his eyes fell upon Gordon's match-up, his standard wicked grin came up in full force. "Now would you look at that... it appears that someone who gets to rip you into satisfying bits...

...is going to be me."


	8. Not To The Likes Of You

"Gordon? Gordon, stop your moping and come look at this!"

Blik motioned for his brother to join him on the bench, the third round of the tournament already well underway.

"What is it?" Gordon asked, lifting his head from its position buried in his knees. He was sitting in a little ball against the wall on the other side of the room, hugging his knees, which he had folded up to his chest.

"Katilda's opponent just came out. You know how I said it's probably nothing, with a name like Bowser? I kind of said the name wrong. It's not a long o. And as for him not being a threat... just... you've gotta see this. Get OVER here!"

"Well?" Kyoto asked, sprawled out over the floor in his own area. "You going over there or is he just going to scream at you this whole time?"

Weakly, Gordon rose to his feet and slowly crossed the room, wobbling a bit as he made his way to the bench.

"What's the prob – great gopher!" Gordon exclaimed, finally showing a bit of emotion as he stopped right in front of the bench and gazed out onto the battlefield. A giant spiked turtle stood in the middle of the arena, his head tilted back as a jet of flame shot from his gaping mouth. Katilda stood at the edge of the stage, crouched in a battle stance as she clutched her sword. "I do believe I've seen him before..." he said.

"You couldn't have warned us when you saw the name?!" Blik snapped, his voice edged with panic. "LOOK at him! I said he'd be a pushover! I was about as far off the mark as I can GET, and I almost NEVER admit that! This is a big deal, Gordo! WHY DIDN'T YOU WARN HER?!"

"I didn't remember the name!" Gordon snapped back, defensive. "And besides, don't you think I have other things to worry about?!" he hissed, pointing towards Kyoto.

"You got that right," Kyoto said with a grin, revealing his sharp fangs. "You DO have me to worry about."

"Stay out of this, dog," Gordon commanded. "It doesn't concern you in the slightest."

"Doesn't it?" Kyoto asked, rising to his feet and approaching Gordon, his teeth still bared.

"NO," Gordon insisted. "This is about Katilda and her opponent. Not everything has to involve your psychotic tendencies!"

"Hey, you're the one who brought me into the discussion," Kyoto pointed out, now circling him and eying him like a piece of meat. "All I did was agree with what you had to say." He paused directly in front of Gordon and stooped down, taking delight in the terrified look on his face. "You can still drop out, you know," Kyoto suggested. "I mean, you're gonna lose this thing anyway. Don't you think it'd be best if you quit now rather than waiting for me to tear off at least one of your limbs?" Kyoto parted his lips, turning his grin into one that showed his many razor-sharp teeth.

"I will NOT surrender to you!" Gordon's expression quickly change from one of fear to one of rage as he leaned in closer to Kyoto, causing him to instinctively rear back. "A Highland warrior NEVER backs down!"

"Then maybe it's time to start. I only suggest this for your own safety," Kyoto responded, his composure returning. "You're the one who's putting his neck at stake, not me..." Kyoto lifted his head in the middle of his statement, his ears perked towards the window as cheers erupted from the stadium. "Geez, that girl got eaten already? I mean, I knew it was probably going to be quick, but that was almost pathetic."

"You're right. It WAS pathetic," Blik answered, smirking. "Just not in the way you think. Look a little closer!"

"Get outta my way, 'warrior'," Kyoto barked, shoving Gordon aside and heading towards the window. "I wanna see just how mangled her corpse is – what the hell?!" Kyoto's eyes widened and his jaw dropped open. It took a few moments for him to regain enough composure to speak. "She WON?!"

"Got that right," Blik responded, the smirk still plastering his face. "He may be a fire breathing monster from the darkest reaches of the netherworld, but that doesn't change the fact that he's a giant TURTLE. If you two weren't so busy sniping at each other, you wouldn't have missed it! He didn't even leave a mark on Katilda! He spat a few flames that she dodged, ended up just coughing up smoke, and she ran in and more or less chopped him to ribbons before he could even move his fat shell! HAH!" Blik threw his head back for a moment as he laughed, but quickly returned his attention back to his mate. Katilda held her sword in one paw, the tip dragging across the ground, and waved to the cheering crowd with the other as she walked off stage and towards the tower.

"Well, that's it," Kyoto said, straightening up and stretching his arms over his head. "One more battle and then it's us." He gave Gordon a quick nudge in the side with his foot, causing him to stumble backwards a little. "So come on, tubby!"

"I'll go down later," Gordon said, brushing at the spot the dog had kicked. "You go ahead of me."

"Aw, what, is the little kitty afraid to be alone with me?" Kyoto asked, his voice taking on a mocking tone. "Remember, you can still drop out..."

"Just GO!" Gordon snarled, one step away from lunging at Kyoto right there in the tower.

"Sheesh, fine," Kyoto replied, his eyes rolling as he headed towards the door. "See you on the stage, then. Assuming you grow a spine and actually come down." He slammed the door forcefully as he left, sending vibrations throughout the room.

"What's his issue, anyway?" Blik asked no one in particular, his ears folded down from the loud noise. "And what are you waiting for, Gordon? These matches aren't usually that long and you're next. Just GO!"

"I'm... I'm not sure I can," Gordon answered, not moving from his spot. "You've seen how he's been this entire day..."

"And?" Blik said. "Don't tell me you're gonna chicken out!"

"Well, I might..." Gordon admitted, hanging his head low. "I mean, it's one thing battling non-sentient creatures or people I have no previous history with, but... considering all Kyoto's done today..." Gordon sighed heavily and slumped forward. "I don't believe I've ever fought anyone with so much hatred directed towards me. I'm not sure I can do this."

"Of COURSE you can!" Blik told his brother, trying to be uplifting, although his tone slightly missed the mark. "Look, we ALL want to see Kyoto taken down, and it's not gonna happen if you just sit there like a lump and feel sorry for yourself. Get DOWN there!"

"He said I should drop out," Gordon continued on, not really listening to Blik. "I just might do that. After all, it IS better than what he may end up doing to me when I go down there..."

"Oh, PLEASE! Come on, Gordo, don't tell me he's gotten into your head!" Blik said, slapping his forehead. "Are you SERIOUSLY going to let little tangent from him five minutes before the fight ruin you like this?"

"I'm trying not to..." Gordon muttered, his voice lowering almost to inaudibility. "It's just... maybe he's right... maybe I can't... maybe I should just -"

"ALL RIGHT, THAT IS IT! You know what you should do?! You should just SHUT UP!" Blik snapped, jumping to his feet. "All I've heard from you since I got here is how you LOVE fighting and you're so GLAD to be here and you're SO certain you're going to win..." Throughout his rant, Blik made his way towards Gordon, slowly backing him into a corner. "I SERIOUSLY don't wanna be here and I only am because I was outvoted, and you wanna know one of the people who outvoted me, Gordo? YOU! YOU are one of the only reasons I'm even here, and I am NOT going to be trapped in this tower JUST TO LISTEN TO YOU FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELF! I'VE GONE THROUGH YOUR WHINY BREAKS IN CONFIDENCE BEFORE AND I'M NOT DOING IT AGAIN!" Blik had pushed Gordon into the corner, positively seething. Gordon simply stared ahead blankly, stunned by his brother's outburst.

"Well?! Are you going to just stand there or what?!" Blik kept on shouting after realizing he wasn't about to receive a response. "Look. We ALL want to see Kyoto get utterly mauled. GET DOWN THERE AND TEAR HIM TO SHREDS LIKE HE DESERVES!"

"Blik..." Gordon responded, unsure how to complete the sentence.

"And if that doesn't work, try this," Blik said, a bit more calmly this time. "You know how he was telling you to back down? You know what I think? He's SCARED, Gordo. Just look at him. He knows he doesn't have a chance and doesn't want to risk it. So are you going to cry in the corner or are you going to get out there and beat him within an inch of his life for all our sakes?"

"...you're right, Blik," Gordon finally finished. "Absolutely right."

"Of COURSE I'm right. I'm Mr. Blik," he replied, his arms crossed.

"Yes, and you know how cowards like Kyoto work," Gordon added.

"Shut up," Blik hissed. "Now, listen. You hear that? It's cheering. The last battle ended. Unless you want to be marked as a forfeit and then force me to listen to you crying about THAT, then get down there. NOW."

"Oh, I will!" Gordon said, quickly running over to the door. "Thanks, Blik!" Without even thinking, Gordon quickly pulled his brother into a tight, grateful hug.

"Gordon?" Blik said, strained.

"Yes, my brother?"

"I think you're going to break my skeleton."

"Oh. Right. Sorry."

Gordon quickly dropped Blik to the floor. Blik slowly rose back to his feet, grumbling. "Now don't you have a fight to get to?"

Gordon nodded as his face took on a serious expression. "I certain do. And I WILL defeat him, I assure you." With a final nod, he headed toward the door and headed out. "By the way, I hear footsteps... I think Katilda's coming up now." With these final words, Gordon was gone down the hall, not even giving Blik time to respond. Just as quickly as Gordon had vanished, Katilda came through the door, still looking behind her.

"What's he so intense about?" Katilda asked.

"He WAS being a whiny little blob," Blik explained as he headed back towards the bench. Katilda followed behind him. "I got fed up with him, screamed a bit, and all of a sudden he was back to being a brave Highland warrior again. I don't get him sometimes, I REALLY don't. My family's NUTS."

"Speak for yourself," Katilda pointed out, grinning as she took a seat beside her mate. "You fit in pretty well with them, ya know." She prodded him a few times in the shoulder, but to no reaction.

"Feh." Blik ignored Katilda's ribbing and instead focused on the stage. Kyoto had already gone up and was busy waving to the crowd, his wicked-looking grin still not faded from before.

"You think Gordon can take him?" Katilda asked Blik.

"Doubtful. You've seen that thing!" Blik scoffed. "At least if he's down there fighting, he won't be up here whining about it."

* * *

"Gordon Quid! Gordon Quid, it is your turn! Where is Gordon Quid?" The announcer's voice boomed through the speakers. "Gordon Quid, report to the stage immediately! If you don't, you'll be disqualified!"

"He chickened out!" Kyoto called back towards the announcer's tower. "Just like I knew he would, the coward!" He tilted his head back and let out a short, spiteful laugh. "Just mark him as a forfeit! He's not coming down!"

"He's NOT a coward, and he WILL come down!" A young, female voice shouted from the stands. "You just wait!"

"Wha-?" Kyoto turned toward the sound and laid eyes on the speaker. Kimberly was standing in front of her seat, gripping the bar that separated the stands from the arena and leaning forward.

"You heard me, Kyoto!" Kimberly continued yelling. "I've known Gordon for a while now, and he never backs down! You just watch!"

"I suggest you hold your tongue, little girl," Kyoto snarled at her. "Didn't your parents ever tell you not to be rude, especially to strangers?"

"No one taught you, apparently." Kyoto turned back to the other side of the stage; Gordon had taken his place, his serious expression not faltering. "Leave her be. This is just between us."

"Who is she, anyway?" Kyoto asked, dropping down onto his front paws.

"An old friend," Gordon answered simply. "It doesn't matter. What DOES matter is that we're going to settle this, aren't we?"

"You got that right," Kyoto growled. The two remained completely oblivious to the announcer's little speech that started the moment Gordon arrived – all they heard was his shouting "GO!", leading the two to immediately leap at each other before the stage could even reach its full height. Kyoto got in the first hit; with one swing of his large paw, he raked his claws against Gordon, opening a long gash down his arm.

"NNNGH!" Gordon dropped to his knees, clutching the wound. Slowly, he removed his paw from the gash as he felt it growing wet. He held it in front of his face, barely comprehending what was going on.

Blood.

"Is that it?" Kyoto asked, smiling horribly. "One little hit, one little cut, and you're reduced to THAT already?" He advanced slowly on Gordon, who remained on the ground. "This isn't even fun!"

Gordon didn't respond; he simply shook the thought of his wound from his mind, and with a wordless battle cry, threw himself forward, pinning Kyoto down to the ground. He slashed furiously at Kyoto's face, but barely made any mark; after only a few seconds, Kyoto kicked with his back paws, sending Gordon sliding across the stage. Gordon gritted his teeth as he weakly pushed himself up; by contrast, Kyoto approached again with little effort.

"Put up SOME fight, cat!" Kyoto growled. "Are you even TRYING?!"

Gordon lifted his head as he caught a blue glow from the corner of his eye. Lying on the ground was a sword with a flat beam of bright blue light for a blade. Slowly, he dragged himself across the stage with his uninjured arm.

"You're going for an item? Really, Gordon?" Kyoto asked, almost sounding bored now. "Oh, come ON... you keep rambling about how you're some tough soldier and you won't even fight me with your own bare paws?"

"FINE," Gordon spat. "You want to see how I fight unarmed? FINE!" Gordon cried out again, closed his eyes, and launched himself forward, claws extended. They never made contact; Kyoto swung his paw again, sending Gordon flying back once more. This time was a stronger hit; Gordon went soaring into the air and only just barely managed to reach out and grab the edge of the stage. Kyoto took a place in front of him, preventing him from climbing back up.

"Aw... over already?" Kyoto said mockingly, still on all fours. He positioned his front paws on Gordon's own and crouched down, sneering. "One little movement and that's IT. I can just shove you off this platform right now. Some warrior you are... you couldn't even TOUCH me. I knew you wouldn't."

"It's not... over yet..." Gordon hissed weakly, struggling to return to the battlefield. Kyoto responded by pushing forward a little, slightly loosening Gordon's grip.

"It's as good as," Kyoto laughed, moving in closer to Gordon's face. "You LOSE."

"NO!"

Kyoto turned to the source of the voice again, from the same place as earlier; Kimberly still leaned against the bars, and she had three others with her; a slightly older girl with dark green hair and bright green clothing, a small pink rabbit-like creature, and a gray, vaguely feline animal.

"DON'T GIVE UP, GORDON!" Waffle shouted, shaking the bars. "You can beat that stinky old dog, can't you?"

"YEAH!" Green added. "C'mon, just punch him in the face or something and knock him cold! He's not as tough as he thinks he is and we all know it!"

"TUFF!" Wigglytuff added, puffing herself up to twice her size.

"You can do it," Kimberly added, a lot more reserved than the others. "I've seen you fight before. I KNOW you can."

Gordon smiled at the group, mouthed a thank you, and turned back to Kyoto, glaring.

"How nice," Kyoto said, adding an exaggerated yawn for effect. "You have a fan club. Big deal. How's THAT gonna help?"

"A great deal," Gordon said. "IN THE NAME OF THE HIGHLAND QUID CLAN! FEEL MY STING!"

"What the HELL are you talking about?!" Kyoto asked. His answer was Gordon jumping forward with one strong movement, breaking Kyoto's grip and landing him back on the stage, to the excited screams of the group.

"I AM GORDON QUID! GORDON QUID OF THE HIGHLAND QUID CLAN!" Gordon roared, his confidence fully restored. "And I shall NOT be defeated by the likes of YOU!" With his claws fully unsheathed, Gordon slashed wildly at Kyoto, who had been rendered completely speechless in shock. The arena had been fully littered with various weapons by this point, but Gordon paid them no heed. Kyoto backed away from Gordon's barrage, but wasn't fast enough to avoid the attacks; he was quickly becoming covered in scratches no matter what he tried. Only after leading Kyoto mere inches from the boundary did Gordon let up, leaving Kyoto hunched forward, panting for breath.

"You didn't... win... YET, cat..." Kyoto growled, not as menacing as he could have been due to his weakened state.

"Not yet," Gordon said in response, "but soon." Certain that Kyoto could no longer move, Gordon backed all the way to the other end of the stage before running forward as fast as he could and tackling Kyoto. The impact was enough to send him to the bottom, too weak to even try recovering. The unused weapons vanished into puffs of smoke as the stage lowered back to the ground. The crowd roared in excitement and the announcer gave some sort of speech, but Gordon could barely understand any of it. Everything sounded as if it was coming from somewhere far off, rather than mere feet from him.

"I... I am Gordon Quid..." he called weakly before dropping to all fours. "And I... do not... surrender..." He clutched his injured arm again, the pain returning as his adrenaline died off.

"A Highland warrior... never... surrenders..." he still attempted his victory speech as he moved his paw in front of his face again. His major wound was still bleeding along with various other smaller ones; he hadn't noticed in all the commotion...

"I... win," he finished before laughing quietly. Everything was getting blurry and his hearing was fading quickly; he heard some vaguely familiar voices screaming his name repeatedly, getting closer each time, and that was it.

He crumpled into a little ball, unconscious.

* * *

"Do you think he's gonna be OK? I've never seen him this bad before..."

"I hope so... I really, really hope so..."

"I think I saw him move! Think he's waking up?"

Gordon groaned softly as he woke up again, slowly becoming aware of the voices around him. Someone had him cradled in their arms, but he wasn't sure who, as his eyes were still refusing to open. From what he could tell, they were all headed up a flight of stairs, likely the tower.

"What... what happened?" Gordon finally regained the strength to speak, although he wasn't sure to whom, exactly. "Where...?"

"Ya got hit pretty bad," answered the only male voice Gordon had heard the whole time. Waffle. It had to have been. "Was still really cool how you won that, though! He didn't stand a chance! We all knew it! So how ya feelin' now?"

"It hurts," Gordon said before taking a sharp intake of breath through his teeth. "It hurts a lot..."

"Not surprised," said a second voice. Gordon managed to glance in this one's direction. It was the green-haired girl from earlier this time, and she was holding that pink animal in her arms. "I help creatures fight as a hobby and that was still one of the most brutal fights I've seen..."

"Who are you?" Gordon asked her, still weakly.

"Name's Green," she answered, "and this here's Wigglytuff. We've been showing your brother here around the place."

"Thanks for keeping him amused," Gordon said, laughing slightly. "Then... that leaves..." He finally managed to tilt his head up and get a look at who was carrying him up the stairs.

"Hi, Gordon. I'm so glad you're awake... are you OK?" Kimberly asked him, her face tinged with worry.

"OH! I'm, ah... I'm fine..." Gordon answered quietly, quickly looking down before she could see his face. "A few cuts and bruises... I'll be fine. Nothing I haven't dealt with before."

"Yes it is," Waffle countered. "I don't think I've ever seen you pass out from a fight before."

"Well... NO..." Gordon muttered, finding it harder and harder to speak as the full reality of the fact that Kimberly was actually HOLDING him began to sink in. "But..."

"At least his arm stopped bleeding," Kimberly pointed out in relief. "That's what had me worried. It still looks AWFUL."

"Maybe we should leave him alone," Green suggested. "Give him time to rest. After all that, I'm pretty sure he needs it."

"Good idea," Kimberly agreed. "Go ahead, Gordon, get some sleep. We'll get to the top soon, and Green told me they'll be able to make you better there. Is that right?"

Gordon nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'll be able to get help... then..." Gordon's voice trailed off as he once again faded from consciousness.

"Soooo..." Green started a new thread of conversation. "You two been friends long?"

"Me and Gordon?" Kimberly asked. "A couple years, yeah. I've known him and his brothers since they were little kittens."

"And you two are really close, right?" Green continued, a sly grin on her face. Wigglytuff raised one paw to her mouth and giggled softly.

"...uh... yeah. I'm closest to Gordon out of the three." Kimberly said, not sure what to make of their behavior. "No offense, Waffle, but, you know-"

"It's OK," Waffle assured. "Green, what are you trying to do?"

"Who said I'm trying anything?" Green answered, still snickering.

"I dunno, but... maybe you should stop, whatever it is," Waffle said.

"Fine," Green sighed. "Boring."

"We're almost at the top anyway," Waffle pointed out. "We better get Gordon in there soon."

"Ugh, FINALLY!" Green said. "These stairs are MURDER!" She ran ahead with Wigglytuff, eager to finally take a seat. She threw the door open and rushed in, sitting on the edge of the bench without saying anything.

"Um... not to be rude... OK, yeah, to be rude. Who ARE you?!" Blik asked, eying this strange girl who had suddenly barged in and made herself at home.

"The name's Green!" she announced as if it should have been obvious. "Kimberly's coming up with your brothers now. Did you see that fight?!"

"I sure did," Katilda said. "That was HARSH. How's Gordon doing?"

"OK enough," Green answered. "A heart container or two should clear it right up. Kirby'll be up soon... they're working on Kyoto now."

"They shouldn't," Blik spat. "Just leave him there. Maybe he broke a few bones or something. Serves him right. DOG."

"I take it you got to know him pretty well," Green deadpanned.

"Yeah, I did. With the front of my truck, for starters," Blik explained. "But I didn't even need to to know he deserved all that. He's a dog. That's enough."

"Hey, you guys mind if I use the intermission to go get a couple snacks?" Katilda asked. "We're out of root beer already, for one thing..."

"If you're going for more root beer, of COURSE I don't mind," Blik said. "Get as much as you can carry!"

"That and a couple more, knowing you," Katilda laughed, getting up and going to leave. Before she could make it to the doorway, however, Kimberly, Gordon, Waffle, and Kirby all came in through the already open door.

"We ran into him on the way up," Kimberly said, pointing toward Kirby. "You guys know who he is?"

"See the tray?" Katilda answered. "He's the one who helps heal the fighters. There's stuff under that lid for Gordon. He's been in and out of here for Gordon and me all day."

"All right," Kimberly said with a nod.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go get more root beer before SOMEONE throws a little fit," Katilda said with a laugh. After Katilda headed down the stairs, Kimberly sat on the other end of the bench from Green, still holding Gordon. "I've got him," she explained to Kirby. "Just... do what you have to."

Kirby set down the tray, removed the lid, and took a heart. "Heart!" he said, holding it up to Kimberly to show her. He then smashed it open against the wall and handed it over. "Eat!"

"I feed him this stuff inside?" Kimberly asked to clarified. After Kirby made an affirmative noise, Kimberly softly shook Gordon.

"Wake up..." she said. "Kirby came with a heart. You really have to eat this stuff?"

"Mmm-hmm," Gordon said. "It's not bad. It's just really sweet." He tried reaching out to grab it with both arms, but yelped from the pain of trying to move his injured one.

"Don't," Kimberly told him. "I've got it. Just open your mouth." Gordon obeyed, allowing Kimberly to pour the container's contents into his mouth. As he swallowed it, his strength began returning, and a couple of the less serious marks faded completely, with some of the worse ones beginning to fade. The only one that didn't change was his arm's initial gash. Kirby made a confused noise upon noticing this.

"You don't know how to fix that?" Kimberly asked. Kirby just shrugged his stubby arms.

"It's all right," Gordon assured them both. "It doesn't hurt so much now, and maybe it'll fade later. Thanks, both of you."

His work done, Kirby did his usual cleanup routine of inhaling the glass shards and spitting them back onto the tray before gathering everything and leaving the tower. Gordon used his regained strength to sit up and look towards everyone else. Blik, Green, and Waffle were all lost in their own conversation and not paying the least bit of attention to the two behind them. Satisfied that they weren't listening in, Gordon turned back to Kimberly.

"Before I finally came down... you started yelling at Kyoto... why did you do that?" Gordon asked. "He's dangerous, and if he decided to attack you..."

"I know I shouldn't have," Kimberly responded. "It's just... you're always telling me how important your honor is, and he kept saying you were scared... but I know you really weren't, right, Gordon? You were just distracted by something and that's why you were late, right?"

"Well... actually..." Gordon sighed. "I WAS a little scared. I almost didn't go down. I didn't want to end up like this... but..." Gordon chuckled slightly in the middle of his sentence. "I decided some things were more important. Like giving him what he deserved for all he's done to us all today."

"He hasn't been nice to you guys, huh?" Kimberly asked. Gordon simply shook his head. "At least he's gone now," Kimberly continued. "I noticed that losers just go into the seating area somewhere. He won't be coming up here. Promise."

"That's good," Gordon said, relieved. "Hey... Kimberly?" Gordon said.

"Yeah, Gordon?"

"Thanks for taking care of me like this."

Kimberly didn't respond in words; however, to Gordon, her smile afterward was quite enough.

"Hey! Lovebirds!" Green called over. "I hate to break up the happy moment, but the roster for the next round is up... you may wanna have a look."

Kimberly rose to her feet, still holding Gordon, and walked over to get a better look out the window. "Oh no..." she said in reaction.

"Can they do that? Can they MAKE them do that?" Waffle asked, stunned.

"What? What's going on?" Gordon asked, unable to position himself properly to view the board. "What are the match-ups now?"

"NO," was Blik's only response to Gordon's question. "NO. You will not DARE, Gordon. NO!"

"But what-" Gordon finally managed to view the board and could speak no more. He read it out loud, if only to confirm to himself that it really said what he thought it did.

"Me... and... Katilda?"


	9. For Honor And For Glory

"Ka... Katilda? Really? That's... that's my next opponent? Me and... Katilda?" Gordon continued to sputter at the board, unsure of what to think of this new development.

"Perhaps... perhaps this shall be an interesting fight."

Behind him and Kimberly, however, stood Blik, his arms crossed, his eyes narrowed in ice cold fury. He didn't say a word about it; he didn't NEED to. His utterly foul mood was doing quite enough of a job at freezing the atmosphere in the room.

"Blik?" Waffle asked in concern. "Blik? You OK? What's wrong?"

"Get out," Blik hissed in reply. "Take Kimberly and your color friend with you. I need to have a few personal words with our dear brother..." He laced the end of this sentence with biting sarcasm, a detail which Waffle just barely caught.

"What, are you mad at him?" Waffle asked. "What for?"

"GET OUT!" Blik roared in response, nearly rattling the bricks of the tower's walls. Green, Wigglytuff, Gordon, and Kimberly all turned their heads toward the noise; Blik stood seething, pointing toward the doorway. "All of you except Gordon. OUT!"

"Geez, Blik, who spit in that root beer of yours?" Green asked, one eyebrow raised. "One second you're relatively pleasant compared to what Waffle's told me, and now you're just being a real-"

"Is anyone even listening to me?! LEAVE!" Blik snapped, not willing to find out just what he was being in Green's eyes.

"We should go..." Waffle said, knowing just how his brother could get. "C'mon... we need to get our seats back before someone takes them anyway." He started making his way to the door. Green visibly rolled her eyes and groaned, but didn't press the issue further; she simply followed, carrying the equally sarcastic Wigglytuff.

"You'll do fine," Kimberly assured Gordon as she set him down on the bench. "And look! That scar on your arm is starting to fade!"

"Really?" Gordon looked to his right arm to see that it had, indeed, started to heal. "It went numb a while ago, right after I ate the heart... still is, matter of fact."

"I bet it'll be healed all the way by the time you go out again," Kimberly said, bending down to pet Gordon's head a bit, oblivious to the fact that he was practically melting into a puddle due to the simple action.

"You... you think?" Gordon stammered, unable to say anything much more intelligent. "I hope it does." Kimberly finally lifted her hand, giving Gordon enough composure to look up at her. "See you after the match, then?"

Kimberly nodded with a smile. "No matter what happens – I'm gonna cheer for both you guys!"

"And that's all very fine and well and good and LEAVE US THE HECK ALONE!" Blik hissed, having been forgotten. "Kimberly, I NEED TO TALK TO GORDON _NOW_. GO!" He resumed pointing toward the door as if she couldn't find it on her own.

"OK, fine... I'll go," Kimberly said with a sigh as she straightened up. 'Good luck,' she mouthed silently to Gordon before leaving. Whether it was related to the fight or Blik's mood, Gordon couldn't determine. He decided it best to assume the former.

"She's such a sweet lass, isn't she?" Gordon muttered as the door closed, not fully recovered from her presence.

"Yeah, sweet, whatever," Blik grumbled, brushing off the comment as he buried his face in one of his paws, trying to decide how to best approach the current situation.

"Isn't it something that I got matched up with Katilda?" Gordon asked Blik, his mind finally back on the tournament. "Katilda! Of ALL people!"

"There's only, what, four of you left?" Blik pointed out, lifting his head.

"True," Gordon said, "I suppose it was bound to happen... but still! I've seen her before, she's definitely skilled in the ways of the sword. I've always wondered what it'd be like to be in a match against her, and now I've been given the perfect opportunity to find out! Oh, this is going to be fantastic!"

"Yeeeeeah..." Blik said. "You see, Gordon, about that-"

"After all, she may be skilled with weaponry, but I've participated in many a fight using my own claws!" Gordon continued on, getting himself more and more hyped up for the coming event with every word from his mouth.

"Well, OK, maybe you two wanna figure that out, but-" Blik tried to interrupt, but Gordon wasn't paying the least bit of attention. He turned his back and looked out to the stage, which was still completely empty during the intermission. "Soon it'll be the two of us out there..."

"Assuming you should," Blik interjected, finally stopping Gordon's monologue.

"What do you mean, 'assuming I should'?" Gordon asked, mildly defensive.

"I MEAN 'assuming you should'," Blik repeated, more of an edge to his voice this time around.

"Well, why SHOULDN'T I?" Gordon asked. "It's just a friendly fight, is all..."

"What the heck is so friendly about beating the tar out of someone?" Blik asked. "Could you explain that to me? I've been trying to figure that out all day and I STILL don't get it!"

"It's a warrior thing," Gordon replied simply. "You wouldn't understand, and that's why you're up here watching instead of down there participating."

"What is there to understand, Gordon?! You 'warriors' go down to that ring, attack each other to the point where you're horribly injured – come ON, just look at what happened to your arm, I heard you saying you can't even feel it right now-"

"That was from Kyoto and that was completely different!" Gordon snapped. "THAT wasn't a friendly fight, he was just a monster, I'm sure even YOU realize that..."

"Accidents happen, Gordo," Blik said. "Now imagine an accident like that in one of your little 'friendly' fights, would you? I don't know, maybe you wouldn't really care if it's against someone you don't even know like that Lucas kid or whoever, but... what if you did that to Katilda?"

"Of course I wouldn't-" Gordon started before the thought truly sank in. What if he DID unintentionally hurt his friend in this...?

"And how do you KNOW you wouldn't?" Blik asked, finally finding just what button to press to get Gordon to break. "Be as careful as you want, but I've seen the way you fight – if you're aiming to win... accidents happen. And you couldn't do that to a friend, could you?" Blik asked, making his best attempt at fake sympathy. "Or, alternatively... is it honorable to do that to a GIRL?" Inside, Blik flinched at resorting to that; God only knows how many times Katilda had reamed him out for expressing such attitudes... but it was for her safety, wasn't it? She'd forgive him just this once if she had to find out at all, right?

"I... I suppose I could not cause such harm to a lass..." Gordon conceded, his eyes flicking down to his scar; just because it was starting to heal and had already lost feeling, it didn't mean it didn't still look awful and he didn't still remember just how it felt initially.

"Of course you couldn't, it wouldn't be right, would it?" Blik asked, carefully picking out just which of his brother's strings to pull.

"No. No, it wouldn't be, absolutely not," Gordon muttered; the most skillful part of Blik's manipulations was the fact that Gordon himself had utterly failed to catch on to just what was happening. "But..." he countered, still not convinced. "But Katilda's pretty much my equal, it seems, I don't think I could harm her that badly-"

"And what if you do?" Blik pushed further, not letting up in the slightest. "Keep in mind you'll STILL be striking at a girl here. What would your little clan think about that, huh? And not even out of self-defense, but making some sort of game out of it!"

"Well, what else am I supposed to do?!" Gordon snapped. "The match-up is me and Katilda and that's that!"

"You could throw the fight!" Blik insisted. "Step down!"

"One match ago I suggested that and you flipped out at me," Gordon hissed. "Why suggest it now?!"

"This is different, Gordo. You HAD to fight Kyoto... isn't that another part of your little honor thing? He challenged and threatened you and you took it! This time... it's not like KATILDA asked to do this. You can step down," Blik explained, for once thankful that he actually paid attention to Gordon's honor rants at times; at the current moment, it was helping him understand just how his brother's mind worked.

"Katilda's not going to take well to that, Blik, you know that," Gordon said. "She's not the type to like winning if the victory is just handed to her."

"True..." Blik submitted to that point. "How about this; you go down there, you join the fight, and you don't even try? Keep missing on purpose. Just let her win."

"Katilda is still going to see through this little plan..." Gordon said, unsure.

"And if she does we can explain. She'll get it. Just remember, Gordon – you can't go around hitting girls. It's not right."

"Very well," Gordon said, standing up. "Well, the two of us are the first ones up after the intermission. I should get going."

"All right, then, get down there!" Blik said, making a small shooing motion with his paw. "And remember – don't attack! Just give her the match!"

Gordon nodded in agreement before walking out the door, his insides beginning to twist as he contemplated what was about to happen down on the battlefield. However, he wasn't expecting to see others on the other side of it.

"Waffle? Green? Wigglytuff?" he asked, stopping as he saw the two in the pathway between the door and the stairs. "What on Earth are you still doing up here?"

"Oh, just chatting," Green said with both a grin and the air of someone who is up to something.

"In the hall? Lass, the intermission is almost over. Don't you three want to go get seats?" Gordon asked.

"Oh, you're right, of course you're right," Green replied. "We'll go right down. After you!" She stepped back to give Gordon room to get to the stairs. Gordon started his way down, but noticed quickly that the others weren't following. "Aren't you all coming, too?" he asked. "There's really nothing else to do up here."

"Just give us a second," Green requested. "Go on down! You're gonna be late!"

Gordon shrugged off Green's odd behavior, having started to adjust to the fact that she was a rather odd person anyway, and walked down, his stomach still churning. Green waited until he was out of sight and hopefully earshot before turning back to Waffle.

"After hearing Blik, I didn't wanna say anything..." Waffle admitted. "Gordon sounded really excited about this, but..."

"I can't believe that cat," Green grumbled. "Going and trying to spoil everyone's fun..."

"He's just protective," Waffle said in an attempt to defend his brother. "He's been saying all kinds of stuff to make sure Katilda doesn't get hurt all day."

"Doesn't he trust her at ALL?" Green scoffed. "I saw her fighting and she's pretty dang good at it! PLEASE tell me he doesn't believe all that 'females aren't capable' crap!"

"I don't think he does," Waffle said. "He's never been like this before. I think he just knew it'd work to get Gordon to give up..."

"And does GORDON believe it?" Green asked, one eyebrow raised.

"He doesn't either," Waffle assured. "Sounded more like he just worried about what his clan would think than anything else."

"Oh, right, the Highland Quid thing," Green remembered. "Sounds a bit outdated and stuffy to me if they're worried about that junk..."

"But it means a lot to him," Waffle said, "and Blik knows that... guess that's why he brought it up..."

"Then Blik's done some dirty fighting of his own," Green said. "Waffle? Could you take Wigglytuff and go back to the stands?" she asked, placing Wigglytuff on the floor. "And see if you can get Kimberly to sit with us. She's a friend of two of the competitors, after all, and a lot of people leave when the people they came for are eliminated. The stands are bound to be deserted by now. Maybe we could all sit front and center!"

"Wiggly?" Wigglytuff asked her trainer, confused.

"Aren't you coming down, too?" Waffle asked, likely expressing the same sentiment as the Pokemon.

"I might," Green said. "But for now, I want a one-on-one word with Blik myself..." Determined, she pulled up one of her sleeves and marched back down the hall.

"Is she always like this?" Waffle asked Wigglytuff. Wigglytuff chuckled and nodded as she started to leave the tower. Waffle followed. Green, meanwhile, reached the door and slammed it open with a mighty crash.

"The HELL is your problem, Blik?!" she snapped, standing in the doorway.

"Hello, please come in," Blik deadpanned. "Seriously, is there something wrong with you and actually greeting people?"

"You shouldn't be asking what's wrong with ME," Green continued shouting as she walked into the room. "That door's thin, you know, I heard every word between you and Gordon! I heard you making him step down!"

"And how's it your business?!" Blik asked.

"I'd say it's EVERYONE'S business," Green said. "Not only are Gordon and Katilda going to miss out on a decent fight with each other because of your stupid paranoia, but the people who paid to come here and watch some exciting battles are going to miss out on one because Gordon won't even be TRYING! Thanks to YOU!"

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm Katilda's mate, and as her mate it's up to me to protect her," Blik insisted, turning his back on Green and staring absentmindedly out the window. "I can't stop her from fighting, but I can make it less dangerous, can't I?"

"At the expense of, oh, say, EVERYONE ELSE," Green said, "her included! Ever stop to think that maybe she WANTS to do this? Stop being a control freak and let her enjoy herself for today, would ya?"

"Well, it's too late now," Blik shrugged. "I already told Gordon to hold off and I'm not gonna go chasing after him with some tearful speech."

"Ugh," Green groaned and threw herself down onto the bench to watch the fight. "Waffle's told me you're a bit of a selfish idiot... I'm seeing it firsthand now. No WONDER he thinks that about you."

"I'm just looking out for Katilda," Blik insisted, no longer raising his voice. "I'm not gonna just stand and watch as she gets hurt..."

* * *

Time dragged on painfully slow as Gordon sat in the room set aside for the tourney participants. What was once a large, active area was now almost deserted now that there was only a tenth of the competition left. Away from everyone else, a blue, bipedal, jackal-like creature was practicing fighting against nothing in particular as his hands glowed with a strange, purplish-blue aura. Gordon remembered there was another fighter, the small masked swordsman, but he didn't seem to be here at the moment. And what about that penguin with the hammer? Gordon didn't remember seeing him losing, but he wasn't on this round's roster...

Before Gordon could wonder too much about where they had gone, he shot up as he noticed Katilda running to meet him.

"When'd you get down here, Gordon?" she asked, laughing.

"Not too long ago," Gordon replied. "I was talking to Blik a bit and then decided to head down."

"I see. What were you guys talking about?" she asked.

"...oh, ah... nothing. Nothing at all. Can't have been anything important because I don't even remember," Gordon chuckled nervously. "So... didn't you come down early because you were going to bring back some snacks? What happened there?"

"Oh, the snack area's MOBBED," Katilda said. "I couldn't even get close. I wouldn't have had time to get anything. I wonder why everyone picked NOW to get something, but whatever... at any rate, I'm assuming you looked at the roster?"

"Aye," Gordon said, that knot in his stomach returning. "You and me, eh?"

"Looks like it," Katilda said, leaning back on her sword. "THIS should be good. My knight to your Scotsman!" She took one paw off of the sword and held it out in front of Gordon. "May the best cat win?" she asked, smiling.

Gordon shook her paw and faked a return grin. "May the best cat win."

"ATTENTION!" the loudspeakers boomed. "The intermission is coming to an end and Round 4 is about to begin! Now, normally, I know that when we are left with an odd number of participants before a round, we hold a target contest and the fighter with the highest time is eliminated. However, I regret to inform you all that King Dedede has refused to participate in the target contest and dropped out of this year's tournament." The now-small crowd erupted in various reactions, but the most prominent was laughter.

"What do you suppose is so funny about that?" Gordon wondered aloud.

"I asked around earlier," Katilda replied. "Apparently Dedede's a bit dramatic and this is typical for him."

The announcer continued on. "Therefore, we are down to an even number again and can move on! Our next competitors are the two remaining residents of Bakersfield – GORDON QUID AND KATILDA!" The crowd more or less exploded at this announcement.

"All right, Gordon, let's do this!" Katilda cheered, running out onto the stage. Gordon went out a bit slowly, stopping to gulp every once in a while. He was barely aware of the fact that he was moving; one moment he was still in the waiting room, and the next he was standing on one end of the stage, staring down Katilda. The surrounding stands were starting to empty, particularly the section for friends of the fighters – it seemed a lot of people were losing interest as competitors were eliminated.

"READY? GO!"

Katilda jumped forward, swinging her sword. Gordon fought the instinct to launch a counterattack and moved quickly to the side, dodging the attack. Katilda turned around and charged again, causing Gordon to dodge once more.

"Are you waiting for an opening or something?" Katilda asked, still swinging. "Come on, the fight's started! Let's go!"

"I'm just... I'm a little tired, is all!" Gordon lied as he made another leap to the side. He stumbled in the middle of this leap and fell to the ground. "I mean, after that fight with Kyoto... I'm just a little drained. I don't know if I can fight anymore."

"Oh really," Katilda asked drly, placing her sword point against the ground and leaning against the hilt.

"Really," Gordon insisted. "So... I suppose you've won this one."

"Mmm-hmm." Katilda sounded rather bored. "All right, what'd Blik say to you?"

"Blik?" Gordon asked, faking stupidity. "Why do you think Blik has anything to do with this?"

"Because I'm not the gullible idiot he seems to think I am right now," Katilda said. "He told you not to fight, didn't he?"

"Well..." Gordon said. "He did, but he's right... it just wouldn't be fair to go hurting a friend, would it? Especially not when that friend's a girl."

Katilda scoffed so loud that what little was left of the audience probably heard her. "Because I'm a girl? Is he STILL on that?"

"I'm sorry, Katilda, but I'm not fighting you," Gordon said. "Just knock me off and go on to the championship fight. You deserve it."

"No," Katilda said, dropping her sword and sitting down on the ground with Gordon. "I don't attack still targets and I don't accept forfeits."

"I'm not going to hit you!" Gordon insisted. "I can't!"

"Gordon. You listen to me," Katilda said slowly and deliberately. "You are going to stand up. You are going to get out those claws of yours. And you're going to give me a fight that's actually worth something, you hear me?"

"But if I accidentally hurt you -" Gordon started to say.

"Then I'll take one of those hearts and move on with my life! Now get up!" Katilda said; she was still smiling the whole time, but Gordon could tell she wasn't playing.

"And if I don't?" Gordon asked, returning the joking smile.

"Then I don't and we'll be sitting here for the rest of the day," Katilda said, not moving.

"If you say so," Gordon replied, pushing himself to his feet. "Shall we start this over?"

"We shall," Katilda said, heading back to the edge of the stage. "And when this is done, will you help me beat a little sense into Blik for causing this mess?"

"Deal," Gordon answered, now on his end of the stage. "All right, Katilda. Ready?"

"GO!" she finished, charging in the same way she did the first time. Gordon was prepared; claws unsheathed, he swung, catching Katilda right across the face. She recovered quickly from the blow, however, and still managed to hit Gordon with the blunt side of the sword, knocking him to the ground. He took advantage of this and swept one of his feet underneath Katilda, tripping her and bringing her down with him.

"Now THIS is what I was hoping for," Katilda laughed as she tried to stand, but Gordon stopped her with a body slam. This attack caused her sword to go skidding across the stage. Rather than recover it, however, she moved on without and started using her own claws against Gordon.

"A little hand to hand combat, huh?" Gordon laughed, throwing a punch across her face, earning him a retaliatory kick to the gut. The two traded blows in this manner, both getting into the battle, almost forgetting just who their opponent was. She inched her way back toward her sword as she defended herself against him, not letting up in the slightest. Finally, she'd gotten back to it; she stopped attacking to pick it back up, leaving her open for another punch from Gordon, bringing her back to the ground.

"Oh, no, I don't go down THAT easy, you Scot!" Katilda shouted, springing up and bearing down on him with the sword. Gordon tried fighting back, but Katilda was much faster; for every punch and scratch he managed to make, Katilda had hit him three or four times with the weapon already.

"Don't... you think... you should... get something yourself?" Katilda asked as she fought. "There's... TONS... of weapons around us..."

Gordon shook his head as he landed another punch. "I fight with my own claws and nothing else."

"Should have expected that," Katilda said, jabbing at Gordon's stomach repeatedly with the sword's point. She pulled the sword back, supposedly leaving herself open; Gordon took this opportunity to move in closer and cause more damage. This was a mistake. Pleased that he had fallen for her trap, Katilda spun the sword around, sending Gordon flying. He didn't end up hanging off the edge by the time he stopped moving, but he'd come pretty close. He lied there still, breathing heavily. Katilda came up to him and crouched down, equally worn out.

"Are you gonna be getting up any time soon?" she asked.

"That's... rather doubtful," Gordon said with a laugh. "You did quite a number on me... good game, Katilda."

"You too, Gordon," Katilda replied. "That wasn't easy. See ya back in the tower!" She swung the sword in a vertical circle, not unlike a golf club, and knocked Gordon right off of the stage. He closed his eyes and winced at first during the fall, expecting a crash, but about halfway down, his descent slowed down considerably. He opened his eyes to find a blue bubble surrounding and lowering him, just like with everyone before.

"AND WE HAVE OUR WINNER!" the announcer said as the small but enthusiastic crowd screamed. "KATILDA OF BAKERSFIELD WILL BE MOVING ON TO THE FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND!"

"Congratulations, lass!" Gordon shouted as the bubble touched down, but he wasn't entirely sure if he was heard; Katilda was already gone, presumably headed back up to the tower. Who he did see was Kimberly running towards him.

"You OK?" she asked, slightly concerned.

"I'm fine, don't worry!" he laughed. "At least I can stand this time! No lasting injuries. I'll be fine."

"Glad to hear it," Kimberly said, her sunny disposition returning. "Sorry you lost, though..."

"No, it's all right," Gordon said. "Like I told her, may the best cat win. She did put up a good fight, and I had fun."

"Green and Waffle went up to the tower with her," Kimberly explained. "Mind if I come up, too?"

"Of course not, Kimberly! Why would I mind?" Gordon asked, his grin getting wider; the adrenaline from the fight was exciting enough, but now this?

"You need any help climbing the stairs?" Kimberly asked. "You've been fighting all day, I bet you're getting tired..."

Gordon opened his mouth to insist he was fine, but instantly thought better of it. "I AM a bit tired... I don't know if I could climb those steps again. Do you mind carrying me?"

"I don't mind at all," Kimberly assured him as she lifted him off the ground and led him back to the tower. Gordon settled into her arms; at this moment, considering everything else that had happened, absolutely nothing was wrong in his world.

* * *

"I don't believe him!" Blik screamed out the window. "I told him NOT to lay a finger on her and he went and did it anyway! The second he comes back up here I'll-"

Blik's rant to himself was interrupted by a slap to the back of his head hard enough to make his face connect with the brick windowsill. "What was that for?!" he shouted, turning to see who his assailant was. "...Katilda!" he stammered. "I, er, didn't mean-"

"Yes you did," Katilda said simply, sitting beside him. "You meant to yell at me just then and you meant to screw with Gordon's head enough to make him not want to fight."

"Told ya, Blik, you're a jerk," Green volunteered; she, Wigglytuff, and Waffle had all come up at the same time as Katilda.

"OK, fine, I screwed up again, happy?" Blik snarled. "Gonna start another fight with me for trying to protect you?!"

"No," was all Katilda said before wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a hug.

"Aw, she forgives you, how lucky," Green snarked.

"I think it's sweet!" Waffle added. Judging by Wigglytuff's high pitched squeaks, she shared the sentiment.

"We're back!" Gordon called as Kimberly opened the door, still cradling him in her free arm. She resumed holding him with both once the door was opened. "Did Katilda throw Blik out the window?"

Waffle shook his head and pointed at the embraced couple; not only was Blik now hugging her back, he had also taken the opportunity to wrap his tail around hers.

"I'm sorry, Katilda, it's just... I keep worrying that you're gonna get hurt, and if it was my own brother that did it..." Blik said, trying to lower his voice so the others couldn't hear him but just barely failing that.

"It's OK," Katilda said, not up for speaking much right now.

"They really care about each other, don't they?" Kimberly said. "I don't think I've ever seen Blik acting so NICE to someone."

"I always figured there was SOMEONE out there that'd make him get like this," Waffle admitted. "Blik can't hate EVERYBODY! No one can! There's somebody like that for everyone, isn't there?"

"I bet so," Kimberly laughed. "I wonder if I'LL ever meet someone like that..."

Gordon decided it best not to speak after Kimberly's comment, lest his speech somehow hide the fact that his heart just jumped up into his throat; it didn't even seem worth it to tell Green and Wigglytuff to stop snickering. Thankfully, Kimberly didn't catch the hint.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa WHOA, WHAT is all the commotion up here?" A sound came barreling up the stairs and through the open door.

"That voice familiar to anyone?" Waffle asked, looking down the hall.

"It's familiar to me," Blik grumbled, allowing his tail to fall, his mood with Katilda dead. "Didn't think we'd be seeing HIM again..."

"Yeah, well, you are, tiny. Deal with it." Falco stood in the doorway, his arms folded. "All right, first off, you, the yellow one," he said, pointing at Katilda. "Katilda, is it? Since you won that last match, congratulations, by the way-" he obviously didn't mean those congratulations- "you'll be moving on to the championship match. C'mon, you've gotta get ready for that."

"I get my own room for the championship? SWEET!" Katilda cheered, letting go of Blik and springing up. "So, who am I fighting?"

"Don't know yet," Falco replied. "Either Lucario or Meta-Knight, I dunno. They're not even gonna start fighting until I've got you settled. So come on, stop wasting everybody's time!"

"See you guys in the winner's circle!" Katilda laughed, running to Falco's side.

"As for everyone ELSE..." Falco said. "Aside from the tubby cat, none of you are even supposed to be up here. It's just supposed to be competitors who weren't eliminated yet."

"Well, no one TOLD us that!" Blik snapped.

"And I just DID," Falco snapped back. "Everyone. OUT!"

"Aw..." Waffle complained. "But these are the best seats, you can see the fight so close..."

"Ah, it doesn't matter!" Green said. "Remember? Since almost everyone left already, we've still got good seats! And we all know Katilda, don't we? So come on! We're all gonna give her the cheering of her life!"

"Well, Blik?" Gordon asked. "Katilda's about to fight a champion. What do you have to say to that?"

"Well..." Blik started. He looked to Katilda, who was alternating between excitedly glancing down the stairs and smiling gently at Blik.

Blik smiled back. "I say that Katilda's going to DESTROY this so-called champion! Now come on! Let's go!"

The entire group filed out of the tower, almost everyone brimming with enthusiasm; the only one who wasn't was Falco, who obviously couldn't be expected to care. The tower room sat empty, not to be used for a whole other year.

Falco led the entire group; Katilda came second in line, more eager for the final round to start than anyone else.

She wasn't sure just how things would play out, but she certainly couldn't wait for it all to start.


End file.
